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Compare New Caledonia (2005) - Belarus (2005)

Compare New Caledonia (2005) z Belarus (2005)

 New Caledonia (2005)Belarus (2005)
 New CaledoniaBelarus
Administrative divisions none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud 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: 29% (male 32,030/female 30,714)


15-64 years: 64.6% (male 70,294/female 69,506)


65 years and over: 6.4% (male 6,513/female 7,437) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738)


15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991)


65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 25 (2004 est.) 133 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 11


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 8


under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
total: 50


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: 21 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 14


914 to 1,523 m: 8


under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.)
total: 83


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 64 (2004 est.)
Area total: 19,060 sq km


land: 18,575 sq km


water: 485 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than New Jersey slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. 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 1995 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 18.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $861.3 million


expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.)
revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
Capital Noumea Minsk
Climate tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 2,254 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) 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: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies


conventional short form: New Caledonia


local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances


local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie
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
Death rate 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $79 million (1998 est.) $600 million (2004 est.)
Dependency status overseas territory of France since 1956 -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas territory of France) chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002


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


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


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US none (overseas territory of France) 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 Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004
Economic aid - recipient $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still, the economy continues to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy and the high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods.
Electricity - consumption 1.471 billion kWh (2002) 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) 800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2002) 3.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 1.581 billion kWh (2002) 30 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires 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-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 Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000)
Executive branch chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Michel MATHIEU (since 15 July 2005)


head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004)


cabinet: Consultative Committee


elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003)


cabinet: Council of Ministers


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
Exports NA 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities ferronickels, nickel ore, fish machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Japan 22%, France 16.5%, Taiwan 12.3%, South Korea 12%, Spain 6.3%, Australia 6.1%, China 4.8%, South Africa 4.5% (2004) Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description the flag of France is used red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamention in red
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 5%


industry: 30%


services: 65% (1997 est.)
agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA% 6.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 21 30 S, 165 30 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay
Heliports 6 (2004 est.) 1 (2004 est.)
Highways total: 5,432 km (2000) total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs - 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 NA 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners France 40.3%, Singapore 10.9%, Australia 9.1%, New Zealand 4.9% (2004) Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)
Independence none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate -0.6% (1996) 4% (2004 est.)
Industries nickel mining and smelting metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 7.72 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
total: 13.37 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) -0.6% (2000 est.) 17.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land 160 sq km (1991) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court 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 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed) (1996) 4.305 million (31 December 2003)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries 0 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: 0.38%


permanent crops: 0.33%


other: 99.29% (2001)
arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3


note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2
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 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons


election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 74.04 years


male: 71.07 years


female: 77.16 years (2005 est.)
total population: 68.72 years


male: 63.03 years


female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 91%


male: 92%


female: 90% (1976 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Oceania Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT


by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2005)
-
Military - note defense is the responsibility of France -
Military branches no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA 1.4% (FY02)
National holiday Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) 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: New Caledonian(s)


adjective: New Caledonian
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards cyclones, most frequent from November to March NA
Natural resources nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper 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 (2005 est.) 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines - gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party [leader NA]; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 216,494 (July 2005 est.) 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.28% (2005 est.) -0.09% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Noumea Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways - total: 5,512 km


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


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004)
Religions Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% 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: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational


international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Telephones - main lines in use 52,000 (2002) 3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 80,000 (2002) 1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain coastal plains with interior mountains generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 2.31 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 19% (1996) 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)
Waterways - 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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