Hungary (2001) | Belarus (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 20 urban counties* (singular - megyei varos), and 1 capital city** (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Bekescsaba*, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest**, Csongrad, Debrecen*, Dunaujvaros*, Eger*, Fejer, Gyor*, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Hodmezovasarhely*, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvar*, Kecskemet*, Komarom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nograd, Nyiregyhaza*, Pecs*, Pest, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekesfehervar*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabanya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Veszprem*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg* | 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:
16.63% (male 862,468; female 818,052) 15-64 years: 68.66% (male 3,406,717; female 3,532,008) 65 years and over: 14.71% (male 546,992; female 939,780) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210) 15-64 years: 68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290) 65 years and over: 13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 43 (2000 est.) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
16 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (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 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 8 (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 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
93,030 sq km land: 92,340 sq km water: 690 sq km |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Hungary was part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. In the more open GORBACHEV years, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and steadily shifted toward multiparty democracy and a market-oriented economy. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Hungary developed close political and economic ties to Western Europe. It joined NATO in 1999 and is a frontrunner in a future expansion of the EU. | 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 but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord. |
Birth rate | 9.32 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$13 billion expenditures: $14.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Budapest | Minsk |
Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight; 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system | 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 Hungary conventional short form: Hungary local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag local short form: Magyarorszag |
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 | forint (HUF) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $29.6 billion (2000) | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Peter F. TUFO embassy: Szabadsag Ter 12, H.-1054 Budapest mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270 telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400, 475-4703 (after hours) FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael 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 Geza JESZENSZKY chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy 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 | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $122.7 million (1995) | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic growth and to work toward accession to the European Union. The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling $23 billion by 2000. Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 to the second-highest rating among all the Central European transition economies. Inflation - a top economic concern in 2000 - is still high at almost 10%, pushed upward by higher world oil and gas and domestic food prices. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing have not yet been addressed by the ORBAN government. | 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 extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. 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 | 35.234 billion kWh (1999) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.35 billion kWh (1999) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 3.406 billion kWh (1999) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 36.75 billion kWh (1999) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
61.09% hydro: 0.51% nuclear: 38.4% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Tisza River 78 m highest point: Kekes 1,014 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | the approximation of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental requirements for EU accession will require large investments | 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7% | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | forints per US dollar - 282.240 (January 2001), 282.179 (2000), 237.146 (1999), 214.402 (1998), 186.789 (1997), 152.647 (1996) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,180 (yearend 2000), 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (second quarter 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Ferenc MADL (since NA August 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 6 July 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 6 June 2000 (next to be held by June 2005); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president election results: Ferenc MADL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% (but by a simple majority in the third round of voting); Viktor ORBAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% note: to be elected, the president must win two-thirds of legislative vote in the first two rounds or a simple majority in the third round |
chief of state:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir YERMOSHIN (since 18 February 2000); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Mikhail DEMCHUK (since 14 July 2000), Mikhail KHORSTOV (since 27 November 2000), Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) 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 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% |
Exports | $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 59.5%, other manufactures 29.4%, food products 6.9%, raw materials 2.4%, fuels and electricity 1.8% (2000) | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Germany 37%, Austria 9%, Italy 6%, Netherlands 5% (2000) | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green | 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 - $113.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 35% services: 60% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 20 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin | landlocked |
Heliports | 5 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
188,203 km paved: 81,680 km (including 448 km of expressways) unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.) |
total:
63,355 km paved: 60,567 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 2,788 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 24.8% (1996) |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and transit point for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine | 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 |
Imports | $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 51.1%, other manufactures 35.9%, fuels and electricity 8.1%, food products 2.8%, raw materials 2.1% (2000) | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Germany 25%, Russia 8%, Austria 7%, Italy 7% (2000) | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
Independence | 1001 (unification by King Stephen I) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 8.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.8% (1999 est.) | 200% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), 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) | 16 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,060 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms) | 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 (1997) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 27%, agriculture 8% (1996) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,009 km border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Yugoslavia 151 km, Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km |
total:
3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
Land use | arable land:
51% permanent crops: 3.6% permanent pastures: 12.4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 14% (1999) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8% | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
Legal system | rule of law based on Western model | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 10 and 24 May 1998 (next to be held May/June 2002) election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - MSZP 32.0%, FIDESZ 28.2%, FKGP 13.8%, SZDSZ 7.9%, MIEP 5.5%, MMP 4.1%, MDF 2.8%, KDNP 2.3%, MDNP 1.5%; seats by party - MSZP 134, FIDESZ 148, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 17, MIEP 14, independent 1; note - seating as of 2000 by party - MSZP 136, FIDESZ 141, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 16, MIEP 12, independents 9 |
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.63 years male: 67.28 years female: 76.3 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, northwest of Romania | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Europe | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,199 GRT/1,050 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Air Force; note - there is a paramilitary Border Guard which is under the Ministry of Interior | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $822 million (FY00) | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY00) | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,573,119 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,050,404 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,121 (2001 est.) |
males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | St. Stephen's Day, 20 August | 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:
Hungarian(s) adjective: Hungarian |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | - | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991) | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Free Democrats or SZDSZ [Gabor DEMSZKY]; Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Gyorgy GICZY, president]; Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party or FYD-HCP [Laszlo KOVER]; note - used to be Hungarian Civic Party or FIDESZ; Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID]; Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Erzsebet PUSZTAI, chairman]; Hungarian Justice and Life Party or MIEP [Istvan CSURKA, chairman]; Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP [Laszlo KOVACS, chairman]; Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP [Gyula THURMER, chairman]; Independent Smallholders or FKGP [Jozsef TORGYAN, president] | Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; 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 or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; 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 Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,106,017 (July 2001 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 8.6% (1993 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.32% (2001 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Budapest, Dunaujvaros | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 7.01 million (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
7,606 km broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,270 km electrified; 1,236 km double track) narrow gauge: 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway connecting Gyor, Sopron, and Ebenfurt (Gysev railroad) a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist and other 7.5% | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
the telephone system has been modernized and is capable of satisfying all requests for telecommunication service domestic: the system is digitalized and highly automated; trunk services are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay; a program for fiber-optic subscriber connections was initiated in 1996; heavy use is made of mobile cellular telephones international: Hungary has fiber-optic cable connections with all neighboring countries; the international switch is in Budapest; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Inmarsat, 1 very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system of ground terminals |
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 | 3.095 million (1997) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.269 million (July 1999) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 161 low-power repeaters) (1995) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.4% (2000 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 1,373 km (permanently navigable) (1997) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |