##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Nepal (2002) - Belarus (2002)
Compare Nepal (2002) z Belarus (2002)
| Nepal (2002) | Belarus (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti | 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: 40% (male 5,346,422; female 5,007,416)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 7,476,202; female 7,125,471) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 453,263; female 465,143) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 45 (2001) | 136 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002) |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 28 (2002) |
total: 103
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2002) |
| Area | total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arkansas | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A maoist insugency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime. Ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, were massacred in a family dispute in 2001. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. The country is now governed by the king and his appointed cabinet until elections can be held at some unspecified future date. | 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 | 32.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $665 million
expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Kathmandu | Minsk |
| Climate | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 9 November 1990 | 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: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal |
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 | Nepalese rupee (NPR) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 10.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.55 billion (FY00/01) | $770 million (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. MALINOWSKI
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
| Disputes - international | formed Joint Border committee with India in 2001 to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary covering an area of 720 sq km; approximately 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, 90% of whom reside in seven UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees camps, place decades-long strains on Nepal | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding |
| Economic aid - recipient | $424 million (FY00/01) | $194.3 million (1995) (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet production, accounteing for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in recent years, contracted significantly in 2001 due to the overall slowdown in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of Maoist activity, the June massacre of many members of the royal family, and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US led to a decrease in tourism, another key source of foreign exchange. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth. | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.431 billion kWh (2000) | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 95 million kWh (2000) | 300 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 174 million kWh (2000) | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 1.454 billion kWh (2000) | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 10%
hydro: 90% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 76.675 (January 2002), 74.961 (2001), 71.094 (2000), 68.239 (1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
| Executive branch | chief of state: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah)
head of government: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur CHAND (since 11 October 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be held by September 2006); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4% |
| Exports | $757 million f.o.b., but does not include unrecorded border trade with India (FY00/01 est.) | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals |
| Exports - partners | India 48%, US 26%, Germany 11% (FY00/01) | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) |
| Fiscal year | 16 July - 15 July | calendar year |
| Flag description | red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun | 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 - $35.6 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 41%
industry: 22% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 4.1% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 84 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the world's tallest - on the border with China | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay |
| Highways | total: 13,223 km
paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (April 1999) |
total: 98,200 km
paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 30% (1995-96) |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; lax money-laundering and banking regulations |
| Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (FY00/01 est.) | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | India 39%, Singapore 10%, China/Hong Kong 9%, (FY00/01) | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) |
| Independence | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.7% (FY99/00) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 72.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% | 46.1% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | 23 (2002) |
| Irrigated land | 11,350 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) | 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 | 10 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (1996 est.) |
4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 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: 20.27%
permanent crops: 0.49% other: 79.24% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002 and elections are scheduled for 13 November 2002
bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next to be held 13 November 2002) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1 |
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 58.61 years
male: 59.01 years female: 58.2 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 27.5% male: 40.9% female: 14% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Asia | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Military branches | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $51.5 million (FY01) | $156 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 1% (FY01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,484,343 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,369,454 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 292,589 (2002 est.) | males: 86,396 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) | 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: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons | NA |
| Natural resources | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
| Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chair]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president, Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary] | Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups | NA |
| Population | 25,873,917 (July 2002 est.) | 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 42% (FY95/96 est. ) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.29% (2002 est.) | -0.14% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 840,000 (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge note: all in Kosi close to Indian border (2001) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
| Religions | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995) |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 236,816 (January 2000) | 2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 4.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 47% (2001 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | none | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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