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Compare Haiti (2003) - Belarus (2003)

Compare Haiti (2003) z Belarus (2003)

 Haiti (2003)Belarus (2003)
 HaitiBelarus
Administrative divisions 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est 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: 42.7% (male 1,637,853; female 1,575,893)


15-64 years: 53.6% (male 1,962,975; female 2,073,353)


65 years and over: 3.7% (male 131,784; female 145,959) (2003 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 coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 12 (2002) 124 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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: 10


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 6 (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: 27,750 sq km


land: 27,560 sq km


water: 190 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Kansas
Background The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history since then, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early in 2001. However, a political crisis stemming from fraudulent legislative elections in 2000 has not yet been resolved. 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 34.06 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $273 million


expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.)
revenues: $4 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Capital Port-au-Prince Minsk
Climate tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 1,771 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 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 Haiti


conventional short form: Haiti


local long form: Republique d'Haiti


local short form: Haiti
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 gourde (HTG) Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $1.2 billion (1999) $851 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador James B. Foley


embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince


mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince


telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0368, 222-0200, 222-0612


FAX: [509] 223-1641
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 (vacant); Chief of Mission Harry Frantz LEO


chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090


FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215


consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
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 despite efforts to control illegal migration, destitute Haitians continue to cross into Dominican Republic; claims US-administered Navassa Island 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 $120 million (FY02) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001 and an estimated 0.9% in 2002. The contraction will likely intensify in 2003 unless a political agreement with donors is reached on economic policy. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million at the start of 2003. 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 539.4 million kWh (2001) 26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 580 million kWh (2001) 24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 60.3%


hydro: 39.7%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: 99.5%


hydro: 0.1%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0.4% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban
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 black 95%, mulatto and white 5% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates gourdes per US dollar - 29.25 (2002), 24.43 (2001), 21.17 (2000), 16.94 (1999), 16.77 (1998) 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 Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001)


head of government: Prime Minister Yvon NEPTUNE (since 4 March 2002); note - former Prime Minister CHERESTAL resigned in January 2002


cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly


election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92%
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 NA (2001) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners US 83.9%, Dominican Republic 6.6%, Canada 2.4% (2002) Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002)
Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September calendar year
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) 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 - $10.6 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 30%


industry: 20%


services: 50% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 15%


industry: 40%


services: 45% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -0.9% (2002 est.) 4.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 19 00 N, 72 25 W 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) 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: 4,160 km


paved: 1,011 km


unpaved: 3,149 km (1999 est.)
total: 74,385 km


paved: 66,203 km


unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption 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 NA (2001) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners US 53.4%, Dominican Republic 5.3%, Colombia 3.4% (2002) Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002)
Independence 1 January 1804 (from France) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA 2.5% (2002 est.)
Industries sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 76.01 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 81.59 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 70.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 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) 11.9% (2001 est.) 42.8% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, Caricom, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, 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) 3 (2000) 23 (2002)
Irrigated land 750 sq km (1998 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation 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 3.6 million


note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)
4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total: 360 km


border countries: Dominican Republic 360 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: 20.32%


permanent crops: 12.7%


other: 66.98% (1998 est.)
arable land: 29.76%


permanent crops: 0.69%


other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
Languages French (official), Creole (official) Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3
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: 51.61 years


male: 50.36 years


female: 52.92 years (2003 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: 52.9%


male: 54.8%


female: 51.2% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Europe
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: to depth of exploitation


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine none (2002 est.) -
Military branches Haitian National Police (HNP)


note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished
Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military expenditures - dollar figure $50 million (FY00) $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.3% (FY00) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,735,845 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 944,474 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 94,349 (2003 est.) males: 86,654 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 1 January (1804) 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: Haitian(s)


adjective: Haitian
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts NA
Natural resources bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate -4.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor BENOIT] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] 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 Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church NA
Population 7,527,817


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
10,322,151 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 80% (2002 est.) 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 1.67% (2003 est.) -0.12% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways total: 40 km


narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge; single-track


note: privately owned industrial line; closed in early 1990s (2001 est.)
total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002)
Religions Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)


note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo
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: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better


domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service


international: 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 60,000 (1997) 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular over 180,000 (January 2003) 8,167 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain mostly rough and mountainous generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 4.86 children born/woman (2003 est.) 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Waterways NEGL; less than 100 km navigable NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
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