##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Guatemala (2002) - Belarus (2003)
Compare Guatemala (2002) z Belarus (2003)
| Guatemala (2002) | Belarus (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa | 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya,' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.8% (male 2,841,486; female 2,725,343)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 3,629,363; female 3,630,273) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 227,369; female 260,245) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 885,265; female 848,516)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 3,456,769; female 3,652,766) 65 years and over: 14.3% (male 490,529; female 988,306) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 475 (2001) | 124 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 455 464
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 9 914 to 1,523 m: 9 123 under 914 m: 115 331 (2002) |
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 67 (2002) |
| Area | total: 108,890 sq km
land: 108,430 sq km water: 460 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Guatemala was freed of Spanish colonial rule in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million refugees. | After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. |
| Birth rate | 34.17 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.1 billion
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Guatemala | Minsk |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 400 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993 | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala |
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Currency | quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 6.67 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $4.5 billion (2001 est.) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John Randle HAMILTON
embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] 331-1541/55 FAX: [502] 334-8477 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio Fernando ARENALES Forno
chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952 FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
| Disputes - international | the "Line of Adjacency", established as an agreed limit in 2000 to check squatters settling in Belize, remains in place while OAS assists states to resolve Guatemalan territorial claims in Belize and Guatemalan maritime access to the Caribbean Sea | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal border crossing; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
| Economic aid - recipient | $212 million (1995) (1995) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. Former President ARZU (1996-2000) worked to implement a program of economic liberalization and political modernization. The 1996 signing of the peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused relatively little damage to Guatemala compared to its neighbors. Ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, and increasing the efficiency and openness of both government and private financial operations. Despite low international prices for Guatemala's main commodities, the economy grew by 3% in 2000 and 2.3% in 2001. Guatemala, along with Honduras and El Salvador, recently concluded a free trade agreement with Mexico and has moved to protect international property rights. However, the PORTILLO administration has undertaken a review of privatizations under the previous administration, thereby creating some uncertainty among investors. | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
| Electricity - consumption | 4.797 billion kWh (2000) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 840 million kWh (2000) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 123 million kWh (2000) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 5.929 billion kWh (2000) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 50%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 5% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated Amerindian - in local Spanish called Ladino), approximately 55%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%, whites and others 2% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | quetzales per US dollar - 8.0165 (January 2002), 7.8586 (2001), 7.7632 (2000), 7.3856 (1999), 6.3947 (1998), 6.0653 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000); Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000); Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 1999; runoff held 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera elected president; percent of vote - Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (FRG) 68%, Oscar BERGER Perdomo (PAN) 32% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10 July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be held by September 2006); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4% |
| Exports | $2.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat, apparel, petroleum, electricity | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | US 57%, El Salvador 8.7%, Costa Rica 3.7%, Nicaragua 2.8%, Germany 2.6% (2000) | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath | red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears a Belarusian national ornament in red |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $48.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 23%
industry: 20% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2001 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 15 30 N, 90 15 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | no natural harbors on west coast | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay |
| Highways | total: 13,856 km
paved: 4,370 km (including 140 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,486 km (1998) |
total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 46% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | major transit country for cocaine and heroin; minor producer of illicit opium poppy and cannabis for mostly domestic consumption; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (cocaine and heroin shipments); money laundering is a serious problem; corruption is a major problem | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; lax money-laundering and banking regulations |
| Imports | $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | US 35.2%, Mexico 12.6%, South Korea 7.9%, El Salvador 6.4%, Venezuela 3.9% (2000) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (1999) (1999) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 44.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.6% (2001) (2001) | 42.8% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NAM (observer), NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 23 (2002) |
| Irrigated land | 1,250 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (thirteen members serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms); Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) |
| Labor force | 4.2 million (1999 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,687 km
border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
| Land use | arable land: 12.54%
permanent crops: 5.03% other: 82.43% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (113 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FRG 63, PAN 37, ANN 9, DCG 2, UD/LOV 1, PLP 1; note - as of January 2003, the seat count is FRG 63, PAN 19, ANN 3, Unionista 10, URNG 5, UNE 6, independent 3, other 4 note: for the 7 November 1999 election, the number of congressional seats increased to 113 from 80; for the November 2003 election, the number of congressional seats will increase by 12-15 seats from the current 113 |
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.85 years
male: 64.16 years female: 69.66 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.6% male: 68.7% female: 58.5% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
| Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $120 million (FY99) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,186,894 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,080,504 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 140,358 (2002 est.) | males: 86,654 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
| Nationality | noun: Guatemalan(s)
adjective: Guatemalan |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms | NA |
| Natural resources | petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -1.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 275 km | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Eduardo SUGER]; Democratic Union or UD [Rodolfo PAIZ Andrade]; Green Party or LOV [Rodolfo ROSALES Garcis-Salaz]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Secretary General Alba ESTELA Maldonado]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Movement for Guatemalan Unity or MGU [Jacobo ARBENZ Villanueva]; Movement for Principals and Values or MPV [Francisco BIANCHI]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Secretary General Leonel LOPEZ Rodas]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Alvarado COLOM Caballeros]; New Nation Alliance or ANN, formed by an alliance of DIA, URNG, and several splinter groups most of whom subsequently defected [led by three co-equal partners - Nineth Varenca MONTENEGRO Cottom, Rodolfo BAUER Paiz, and Jorge Antonio BALSELLS TUT]; Patriot Party or PP [retired General Otto PEREZ Molina]; Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina]; Reform Movement or MR [Secretary General Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE]; Unionista Party [leader NA] | Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; Mutual Support Group or GAM | NA |
| Population | 13,314,079 (July 2002 est.) | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.57% (2002 est.) | -0.12% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 835,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | total: 884 km
narrow gauge: 884 km 0.914-m gauge (single-track) note: much of the railway is inoperable (2001 est.) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day) | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala
domestic: NA international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 665,061 (June 2000) | 2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 663,296 (September 2000) | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 4.51 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during highwater season |
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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