Liechtenstein (2002) | Belarus (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 11 communes (Gemeinden, singular - Gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz | 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: 18.3% (male 3,003; female 3,001)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 11,530; female 11,639) 65 years and over: 11.2% (male 1,494; female 2,175) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, corn, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | none (2001) | 67 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
Area | total: 160 sq km
land: 160 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719; it became a sovereign state in 1806. Until the end of World War I, it was closely tied to Austria, but the economic devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to conclude a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Since World War II (in which Liechtenstein remained neutral) the country's low taxes have spurred outstanding economic growth. However, shortcomings in banking regulatory oversight have resulted in concerns about the use of the financial institutions for money laundering. | 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. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. |
Birth rate | 11.24 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $424.2 million
expenditures: $414.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $15.35 billion
expenditures: $16.78 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Vaduz | name: Minsk
geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 0 km (doubly landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 October 1921 | 15 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: Principality of Liechtenstein
conventional short form: Liechtenstein local long form: Fuerstentum Liechtenstein local short form: Liechtenstein |
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Swiss franc (CHF) | - |
Death rate | 6.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (1996) (2001) | $9.272 billion (30 June 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the US Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein | chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, 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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Claudia FRITSCHE
chancery: 1300 Eye Street NW, Suite 550W, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 216-0460 FAX: [1] (202) 216-0459 |
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 | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918 | as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security |
Economic aid - recipient | none | $53.76 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Despite its small size and limited natural resources, Liechtenstein has developed into a prosperous, highly industrialized, free-enterprise economy with a vital financial service sector and living standards on a par with the urban areas of its large European neighbors. The Liechtenstein economy is widely diversified with a large number of small businesses. Low business taxes - the maximum tax rate is 20% - and easy incorporation rules have induced a large number of holding or so-called letter box companies to establish nominal offices in Liechtenstein, providing 30% of state revenues. The country participates in a customs union with Switzerland and uses the Swiss franc as its national currency. It imports more than 90% of its energy requirements. Liechtenstein has been a member of the European Economic Area (an organization serving as a bridge between European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and EU) since May 1995. The government is working to harmonize its economic policies with those of an integrated Europe. | 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. Since 2005, the government has re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by 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; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 8% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 313.45 million kWh NA kWh (2001) | 29.49 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | NA kWh (2001) | 5.053 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 232.847 million kWh NA kWh (2001) | 9.091 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 29.08 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% 98% nuclear: NA% other: NA% 2% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Ruggeller Riet 430 m
highest point: Grauspitz 2,599 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Alemannic 86%, Italian, Turkish, and other 14% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
Exchange rates | Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.6668 (January 2002), 1.6876 (2001), 1.6888 (2000), 1.5022 (1999), 1.4498 (1998), 1.4513 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Prince HANS ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS, son of the monarch (born 11 June 1968)
head of government: Head of Government Otmar HASLER (since 5 April 2001) and Deputy Head of Government Rita KIEBER-BECK (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Parliament, confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Diet is usually appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the largest minority party in the Diet is usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergey SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 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, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud |
Exports | $2.47 billion (1996) | 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | small specialty machinery, connectors for audio and video, parts for motor vehicles, dental products, hardware, prepared foodstuffs, electronic equipment, optical products | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | EU 62.6% (Germany 24.3%, Austria 9.5%, France 8.9%, Italy 6.6%, UK 4.6%), US 18.9%, Switzerland 15.7% | Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue 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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $730 million (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% 40% services: NA% (1999) |
agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 40.6% services: 50.6% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $23,000 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 6.9% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 16 N, 9 32 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | along with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world; variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 250 km
paved: 250 km unpaved: 0 km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 23.5% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | multilateral organizations engaged in issuing international guidelines for financial sector oversight found gaps in Liechtenstein's financial services controls that made it vulnerable to money laundering, but Liechtenstein has become less attractive as a haven for illicit funds, based on implementation in 2001 of new anti-money-laundering legislation and improved mutual legal assistance cooperation with other countries | 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 | $917.3 million (1996) | 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | agricultural products, raw materials, machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | EU countries, Switzerland | Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006) |
Independence | 23 January 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established; 12 July 1806 established independence from the Holy Roman Empire | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | electronics, metal manufacturing, dental products, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments, tourism, optical instruments | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001) | 8.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, IAEA, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WIPO, WTrO | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 44 (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,310 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Court of Appeal or Obergericht | 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 | 28,783 of which 13,847 are foreigners; 8,231 commute from Austria and Switzerland to work each day | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry, trade, and building 48%, services 51%, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and horticulture 1% (37256 est.) | agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 76 km
border countries: Austria 34.9 km, Switzerland 41.1 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: 25%
permanent crops: 0% other: 75% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
Languages | German (official), Alemannic dialect | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 February 2001 (next to be held by NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - FBP 49.90%, VU 41.35%, FL 8.71%; seats by party - FBP 13, VU 11, FL 1 |
bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the 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 Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.1 years
male: 75.47 years female: 82.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 70.05 years
male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1981 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census) |
Location | Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Switzerland | - |
Military branches | - | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Assumption Day, 15 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: Liechtensteiner(s)
adjective: Liechtenstein |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | hydroelectric potential, arable land | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 4.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Fatherland Union or VU [Dr. Heinz FROMMELT]; Progressive Citizens' Party or FBP [Johannes MATT]; The Free List or FL [Dr. Pepo FRICK, Karin JENNY, Rene HASLER] | pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]
opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party (unregistered) [Pavel SEVERINETS]; Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada (People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Aleksandr KOZULIN; Anatoliy LEVKOVICH, acting]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergey YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom (unregistered) [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH, Sergey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS] |
Population | 32,842 (July 2002 est.) | 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.94% (2002 est.) | -0.41% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 21,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 18.5 km
standard gauge: 18.5 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified) note: owned, operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal Railways (2001) |
total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.2%, Protestant 7%, unknown 10.6%, other 6.2% (June 2002) | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: automatic telephone system
domestic: NA international: linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio relay |
general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital
domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies 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); 3 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 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,072 (2000) | 3.368 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 5.96 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA (linked to Swiss networks) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 1.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.3% (1999) | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) |
Waterways | none | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |