Honduras (2001) | Belarus (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro | 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:
42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684) 15-64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003) 65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 119 (2000 est.) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
107 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 84 (2000 est.) |
total: 103
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2002) |
Area | total:
112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. | 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 | 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$607 million expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Minsk |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 820 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 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 Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
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 | lempira (HNL) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.4 billion (2000) | $770 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Frank ALMAGUER embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hugo NOE PINO chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville |
chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO
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 | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; the maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $194.3 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001. | 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. 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 | 3.232 billion kWh (1999) | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 145 million kWh (1999) | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 3.319 billion kWh (1999) | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
44.71% hydro: 55.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch damage | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 15.1407 (December 2000), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (1996) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) head of government: President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (PL) 50%, Nora de MELGAR (PN) 40%, other 10% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001) 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 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals |
Exports - partners | US 35.4%, Germany 7.5%, El Salvador 6.4%, Guatemala 5.8%, Nicaragua 4.8% (1999) | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band | 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 the Belarusian national ornament in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16.2% industry: 31.9% services: 51.9% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | - | 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:
15,400 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
total: 98,200 km
paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 42.1% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; vulnerable to money laundering | 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 | $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | US 47.1%, Guatemala 7.4%, El Salvador 5.9%, Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.7% (1999) | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999 est.) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 46.1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | 23 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 740 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress) | 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 | 2.3 million (1997 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 50% (1998 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 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:
15% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 54% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PL 46%, PN 38%, PINU-SD 4%, PDC 2%, PUD 2%; seats by party - PL 67, PN 55, PINU-SD 3, PDC 2, PUD 1 |
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:
69.35 years male: 67.51 years female: 71.28 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.7% male: 72.6% female: 72.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 760,819 GRT/820,582 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 187, chemical tanker 7, container 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Russia 4, Singapore 2, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35 million (FY99) | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | 1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,515,101 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
902,220 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
72,335 (2001 est.) |
males: 86,396 (2002 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:
Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast | NA |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | -2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Marias FUNES Valladares, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse, president]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban VALLADARES, president]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Carlos URBIZO, president] | 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 | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH | NA |
Population | 6,406,052
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 2001 est.) |
10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.43% (2001 est.) | -0.14% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 2.45 million (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
595 km narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | 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: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate system domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
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 | 234,000 (1997) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,427 (1997) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 4.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (2000 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 465 km (navigable by small craft) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |