New Zealand (2003) | Belarus (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, West Coast | 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: 21.9% (male 443,837; female 423,118)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 1,318,751; female 1,307,796) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 199,722; female 258,083) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 113 (2002) | 135 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 67
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 39 (2002) |
total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.) |
Area | total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. | 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 | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $29.2 billion
expenditures: $31.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Wellington | Minsk |
Climate | temperate with sharp regional contrasts | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 15,134 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter | 30 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: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
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 | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $33 billion (2002 est.) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Dependent areas | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96531-1034 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 472-3478 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
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 | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $99.7 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Since 1984 the government has accomplished major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per capita incomes have been rising, however, they remain below the level of the four largest EU economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, although growth may slow to 2.5% in 2003. | Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
Electricity - consumption | 34.88 billion kWh (2001) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 37.51 billion kWh (2001) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 31.6%
hydro: 57.8% nuclear: 0% other: 10.7% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.16 (2002), 2.38 (2001), 2.2 (2000), 1.89 (1999), 1.87 (1998) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA July 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002) 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 | 30,220 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Australia 20.3%, US 15.5%, Japan 11.5%, UK 4.8%, China 4.6%, South Korea 4.4% (2002) | Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation | 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 | purchasing power parity - $78.4 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 23% services: 69% (2001) |
agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,100 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2002 est.) | 6.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 S, 174 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world | 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 | 1 (2002) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 92,053 km
paved: 57,809 km (including at least 190 km of expressways) unpaved: 34,244 km (2000) |
total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1991 est.) |
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 | 119,700 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | Australia 22.1%, US 13.6%, Japan 12%, China 8%, Germany 5.2% (2002) | Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003) |
Independence | 26 September 1907 (from UK) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2002 est.) | 28.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, C, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 36 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,850 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal | 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 | 1.92 million (2001 est.) | 4.8 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995) | NA |
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: 5.8%
permanent crops: 6.44% other: 87.76% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Maori (official) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
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 Predstaviteliy (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 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); 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 Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.32 years
male: 75.34 years female: 81.44 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
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, southeast of Australia | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 69,685 GRT/106,627 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $605.7 million (FY02) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY02) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,021,770 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 859,505 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 26,803 (2003 est.) | males: 86,716 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | 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 Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity | NA |
Natural resources | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 4.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,213 km; liquid petroleum gas 79 km; oil 160 km; refined products 304 km (2003) | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Alliance (a coalition of the New Labor Party, Democratic Party, New Zealand Liberal Party, and Mana Motuhake) [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE] | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; 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 | 3,951,307 (July 2003 est.) | 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.09% (2003 est.) | -0.11% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,898 km
narrow gauge: 3,898 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2002) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 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 | 1.92 million (2000) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.2 million (2000) | 1.118 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.3% (2002 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 1,609 km
note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements |
2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |