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Compare Mexico (2005) - Belarus (2006)

Compare Mexico (2005) z Belarus (2006)

 Mexico (2005)Belarus (2006)
 MexicoBelarus
Administrative divisions 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas 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: 31.1% (male 16,844,400/female 16,159,511)


15-64 years: 63.3% (male 32,521,043/female 34,704,093)


65 years and over: 5.6% (male 2,715,010/female 3,258,846) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)


15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950)


65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 1,833 (2004 est.) 86 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 233


over 3,047 m: 12


2,438 to 3,047 m: 28


1,524 to 2,437 m: 84


914 to 1,523 m: 80


under 914 m: 29 (2004 est.)
total: 41


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: 12 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1,600


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 69


914 to 1,523 m: 454


under 914 m: 1,075 (2004 est.)
total: 45


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 6


under 914 m: 35 (2006)
Area total: 1,972,550 sq km


land: 1,923,040 sq km


water: 49,510 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Texas slightly smaller than Kansas
Background The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. 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, Alexander 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 21.01 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $160 billion


expenditures: $158 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
revenues: $5.903 billion


expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.)
Capital Mexico (Distrito Federal) 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 varies from tropical to desert cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 9,330 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 5 February 1917 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: United Mexican States


conventional short form: Mexico


local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos


local short form: Mexico
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
Death rate 4.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $149.9 billion (2004 est.) $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA


embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal


mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-0900


telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000


FAX: [52] (55) 5525-5040


consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana


consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo, Laredo
chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART


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 chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Carlos Alberto de ICAZA Gonzalez


chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006


telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600


FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)


consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi (Texas), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
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 prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from illegally crossing the border with Mexico 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly
Economic aid - recipient $1.166 billion (1995) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to invest in the energy sector, but progress is slow. Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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. During 2005, the government 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, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.
Electricity - consumption 189.7 billion kWh (2002) 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 98.65 million kWh (2002) 800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 367.7 million kWh (2002) 7 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 203.6 billion kWh (2002) 30 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m


highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion


note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues
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, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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 mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates Mexican pesos per US dollar - 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001), 9.456 (2000) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001)
Executive branch chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate


elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held 2 July 2006)


election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei 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 allowing president to run in a third election 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 1.863 million bbl/day (2004) 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners US 87.6%, Canada 1.8%, Spain 1.1% (2004) Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is 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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 27.2%


services: 68.9% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 9.3%


industry: 31.6%


services: 59.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $9,600 (2004 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 4.1% (2004 est.) 9.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 23 00 N, 102 00 W 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Heliports 2 (2004 est.) 1 (2006)
Highways total: 329,532 km


paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways)


unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.6%


highest 10%: 35.6% (2002)
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, accounting for about 70 percent of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center 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 205,000 bbl/day (2004) 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners US 53.7%, China 7%, Japan 5.1% (2004) Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005)
Independence 16 September 1810 (from Spain) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 3.8% (2004 est.) 15.6% (2005 est.)
Industries food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 20.91 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 22.85 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 18.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5.4% (2004 est.) 10.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation APEC, BCIE, BIS, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) 1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) 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 34.73 million (2004 est.) 4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003) agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total: 4,353 km


border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 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: 12.99%


permanent crops: 1.31%


other: 85.7% (2001)
arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
Languages Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held 2 July 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held 2 July 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 16, PVEM 5, unassigned 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 222, PAN 151, PRD 95, PVEM 17, PT 6, CD 5, unassigned 4; note - special elections were held in December 2003; the PRI and the PRD each won one seat and were each assigned one additional proportional representation seat
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 8 members appointed by the president, all for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage 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: 75.19 years


male: 72.42 years


female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)
total population: 69.08 years


male: 63.47 years


female: 74.98 years (2006 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 92.2%


male: 94%


female: 90.5% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references North America Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 649,389 GRT/942,766 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas 5, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 26, roll on/roll off 4


foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, UAE 1, United States 1)


registered in other countries: 6 (2005)
-
Military branches Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena): Army and Air Force (FAM)


Secretariat of the Navy (Semar): Naval Air and Marines (2004)
Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $6.043 billion (2004) $420.5 million (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.9% (2004) 1.4% (FY02)
National holiday Independence Day, 16 September (1810) 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: Mexican(s)


adjective: Mexican
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts NA
Natural resources petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate -4.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km (2003) gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Roberto MADRAZO Pintado]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Leonel GODOY]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]


opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; 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) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population 106,202,903 (July 2005 est.) 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (2003 est.) 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.17% (2005 est.) -0.06% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors Altamira, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Veracruz -
Radio broadcast stations AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways total: 17,634 km


standard gauge: 17,634 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)
total: 5,512 km


broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005)
Religions nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% 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: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2006 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: low telephone density with about 15.2 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant


domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable


international: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)
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; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly


domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four 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); 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 15,958,700 (2003) 3,284,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 28.125 million (2003) 4.098 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 2.45 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 3.2% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2004 est.) 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways 2,900 km


note: navigable rivers and coastal canals (2004)
2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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