Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Hong Kong (2008) - Belarus (2004) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Hong Kong (2008) - Belarus (2004)

Compare Hong Kong (2008) z Belarus (2004)

 Hong Kong (2008)Belarus (2004)
 Hong KongBelarus
Administrative divisions none (special administrative region of China) 6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers
Age structure 0-14 years: 13% (male 476,089/female 434,326)


15-64 years: 74% (male 2,515,518/female 2,652,660)


65 years and over: 12.9% (male 419,479/female 482,340) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)


15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203)


65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 2 (2007) 135 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
total: 50


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 21


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 85


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.)
Area total: 1,092 sq km


land: 1,042 sq km


water: 50 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative six times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. 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 7.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $36.9 billion


expenditures: $29.4 billion (FY07-08 est.)
revenues: $2.976 billion


expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.)
Capital - Minsk
Climate subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 733 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits
Country name conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region


conventional short form: Hong Kong


local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu


local short form: Xianggang


abbreviation: HK
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 - Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $588 billion (2007 est.) $851 million (2001 est.)
Dependency status special administrative region of China -
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Consul General James B. CUNNINGHAM


consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong


mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO AP 96521-0006


telephone: [852] 2523-9011


FAX: [852] 2845-1598
chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002


mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723


telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US none (special administrative region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington and two other cities carries out normal liaison and communication with the US Government and other US entities 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 none 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support
Economic aid - recipient $6.95 million (2004) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. In 2006, the total value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of reexports, was equivalent to 400% of GDP. The territory has become increasingly integrated with mainland China over the past few years through trade, tourism, and financial links. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for 46% of Hong Kong's total trade by value in 2006. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 13.6 million in 2006, when they outnumbered visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. Bolstered by several successful initial public offerings in 2007, mainland companies by September 2007 accounted for one-third of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and over half of the Exchange's market capitalization. Hong Kong's service industry over the past decade has grown rapidly as its manufacturing industry has moved to the mainland and now accounts for 91% of the territory's GDP. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2007, despite the economy suffering two recessions during the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 and the global downturn in 2001-02. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983. Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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 enterprises. In addition, 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
Electricity - consumption 40.3 billion kWh (2006) 26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 4.5 billion kWh (2006) 300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 10.9 billion kWh (2006) 4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 38.6 billion kWh (2006) 24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues air and water pollution from rapid urbanization 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: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 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 Chinese 94.9%, Filipino 2.1%, other 3% (2001 census) Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.802 (2007), 7.7678 (2006), 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)


head of government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG (since 24 June 2005)


cabinet: Executive Council consists of 15 official members and 16 non-official members


elections: chief executive elected for five-year term by 800-member electoral committee; last held on 25 March 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: Donald TSANG elected chief executive receiving 84.1% of the vote of the election committee; Alan LEONG received 15.9%
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002)


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; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in 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 22,420 bbl/day (2006) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners China 47%, US 15.1%, Japan 4.9% (2006) Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center 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 Belarusian national ornamention in red
GDP - purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 0.1%


industry: 8.1%


services: 91.8% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 11.1%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5.8% (2007 est.) 6.8% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 22 15 N, 114 10 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note more than 200 islands 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
Heliports 5 (2007) 1 (2003 est.)
Highways - 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 despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people 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; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities
Imports 314,700 bbl/day (2006) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners China 45.9%, Japan 10.3%, Taiwan 7.5%, Singapore 6.3%, US 4.8%, South Korea 4.6% (2006) Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003)
Independence none (special administrative region of China) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate -0.9% (2007 est.) 5% (2003 est.)
Industries textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 2.94 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 2.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (2007 est.) 28.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation ADB, APEC, BIS, ICC, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WTO CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Irrigated land 20 sq km (1998 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 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 3.64 million (2007 est.) 4.8 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation manufacturing 6.5%, construction 2.1%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.3%, financing, insurance, and real estate 20.7%, transport and communications 7.8%, community and social services 19.5%


note: above data exclude public sector (2007 est.)
NA
Land boundaries total: 30 km


regional border: China 30 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: 5.05%


permanent crops: 1.01%


other: 93.94% (2001)
arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census) Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system based on English common law based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; in 2004, 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy 63%, pro-Beijing 37%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, FTU 1, independents 11; (pro-democracy 25) Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1, independents 11; non-voting LEGCO president 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 Predstaviteliy (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons


election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 81.68 years


male: 78.99 years


female: 84.6 years (2007 est.)
total population: 68.57 years


male: 62.79 years


female: 74.65 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school


total population: 93.5%


male: 96.9%


female: 89.6% (2002)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Southeast Asia Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 3 nm none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 1,009 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,556,075 GRT/57,423,309 DWT


by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 499, cargo 135, chemical tanker 51, combination ore/oil 3, container 173, liquefied gas 24, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 91, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 8


foreign-owned: 617 (Belgium 4, Canada 39, China 309, Denmark 12, France 1, Germany 10, Greece 30, Indonesia 7, Japan 78, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Norway 30, Pakistan 1, Philippines 10, Portugal 1, Singapore 11, Syria 1, Taiwan 11, UAE 1, UK 32, US 22)


registered in other countries: 275 (Bahamas 3, Belize 5, Bermuda 4, Cambodia 11, China 6, Cyprus 2, Honduras 1, India 1, Liberia 21, Malaysia 14, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 4, Mongolia 1, Norway 5, Panama 137, Philippines 2, Seychelles 1, Singapore 37, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Tuvalu 10, UK 2, unknown 7) (2007)
-
Military - note defense is the responsibility of China -
Military branches no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 86,716 (2004 est.)
National holiday National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day 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: Chinese/Hong Konger


adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards occasional typhoons NA
Natural resources outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 4.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines - gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Civic Party [KUAN Hsin-chi]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [TAM Yiu Cheng]; Democratic Party [Albert HO]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing]; League of Social Democrats [Raymond WONG]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun]


note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Democratic Party, Frontier Party, League of Social Democrats; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party, The Alliance (a group of five generally pro-government and pro-business Legco members from functional constituencies); there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active
Political pressure groups and leaders Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC (pro-democracy); The Alliance [Bernard CHARNWUT, exco member] NA
Population 6,980,412 (July 2007 est.) 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 0.561% (2007 est.) -0.11% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors - Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways - total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003)
Religions eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.096 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.948 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female


total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 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 (2004 est.)
Suffrage direct election - 18 years of age for a number of non-executive positions; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election - limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, central government bodies, and municipal organizations 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services


domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network


international: country code - 852; multiple international submarine cables provide connections to Asia, US, Australia, the Middle East, and Western Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China
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' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational


international: country code - 375; 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 3.87 million (2007) 3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 9.913 million (2007) 1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 55 (2 TV networks, each broadcasting on 2 channels) (2007) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 0.98 children born/woman (2007 est.) 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 4.2% (2007 est.) 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.)
Waterways - 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.