Compare New Zealand (2006) - Belarus (2007)

Compare New Zealand (2006) z Belarus (2007)

	New Zealand (2006)	Belarus (2007)

Administrative divisions	16 regions and 1 territory; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Chatham Islands, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, 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: 21.1% (male 439,752/female 419,174) 15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,374,850/female 1,361,570) 65 years and over: 11.8% (male 210,365/female 270,429) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734) 15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, lamb and mutton, dairy products; fish	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports	118 (2006)	67 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 45 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 4 (2006)	total: 36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 73 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 40 (2006)	total: 31 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 27 (2007)
Area	total: 268,680 sq km land: 268,021 sq km water: NA 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. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.
Birth rate	13.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $43.1 billion expenditures: $37.57 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $13.24 billion expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	name: Wellington geographic coordinates: 41 28 S, 174 51 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends third Sunday in March note: New Zealand is divided into two time zones, including Chatham Island	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	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, as well as The Constitution Act 1986, which is the principal formal charter; adopted 1 January 1987, effective 1 January 1987	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: 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: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$42.84 billion (2005 est.)	$5.929 billion (2006 est.)
Dependent areas	Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador William P. McCORMICK 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) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: Auckland	chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Roy N. FERGUSON 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	asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) [see Antarctica]	as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $99.7 million	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$53.76 million (2005)
Economy - overview	Over the past 20 years the government has transformed 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. Per capita income has risen for six consecutive years and was more than $24,000 in 2005 in purchasing power parity terms. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth. Exports are equal to about 22% of GDP. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and the Labor Government promises that expenditures on health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately to output.	Belarus's economy in 2006 posted more than 8% growth. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2006, 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. Since 2005, the government has re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment, 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 receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. This growth will be threatened in 2007, however, when Russia raises energy prices closer to world market prices for Belarus. Russia is planning to increase Belarusian gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm for 2007, gradually increasing to world prices by 2011. Russia has also introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 70% will go to Russia in 2007, 80% in 2008, and 85% in 2009.
Electricity - consumption	37.03 billion kWh (2003)	29.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	5.053 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	9.091 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	39.82 billion kWh (2003)	29.08 billion kWh (2005)
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 invasive species	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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	European 69.8%, Maori 7.9%, Asian 5.7%, Pacific islander 4.4%, other 0.5%, mixed 7.8%, unspecified 3.8% (2001 census)	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001)	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006) 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 SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since NA December 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud
Exports	30,220 bbl/day (2001)	249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners	Australia 21.4%, US 14.1%, Japan 10.6%, China 5.1%, UK 4.7% (2005)	Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)
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 ornamentation in red
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 4.3% industry: 27.3% services: 68.4% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 9.2% industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.3% (2005 est.)	9.9% (2006 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
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA (1991 est.)	lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
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)	378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners	Australia 20.9%, US 11%, Japan 11%, China 10.9%, Germany 4.9% (2005)	Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)
Independence	26 September 1907 (from UK)	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	-2.5% (2005 est.)	15.6% (2005 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, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate	total: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3% (2005 est.)	7% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	2,850 sq km (2003)	1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court; note - Judges appointed by the Governor-General	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	2.13 million (2005 est.)	4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 10% industry: 25% services: 65% (1995)	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: 5.54% permanent crops: 6.92% other: 87.54% (2005)	arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including seven Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 17 September 2005 (next to be held not later than 15 November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NZLP 41.1%, NP 39.1%, NZFP 5.72%, Green Party 5.3%, Maori 2.12%, UF 2.67%, ACT New Zealand 1.51%, Progressive 1.16%; seats by party - NZLP 50, NP 48, NZFP 7, Green Party 6, Maori 4, UF 3, ACT New Zealand 2, Progressive 1 note: results of 2005 election saw the total number of seats increase to 121 because the Maori Party won one more electorate seat than its entitlement under the party vote	bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic based on massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.81 years male: 75.82 years female: 81.93 years (2006 est.)	total population: 70.05 years male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census)
Location	Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia	Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references	Oceania	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 136,361 GRT/124,972 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Australia 2, Germany 1, Isle of Man 1) registered in other countries: 8 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Cook Islands 1, Dominica 4, France 1, UK 1) (2006)	-
Military branches	New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF): New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force (2006)	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.147 billion (FY03/04)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1% (FY02)	1.4% (2005 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	3.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	condensate 224 km; gas 1,693 km; liquid petroleum gas 45 km; oil 280 km; refined products 288 km (2006)	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	ACT New Zealand [Rodney HIDE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS]; Maori Party [Whatarangi WINIATA]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; Progressive Party [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE]	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 [Aleksandr 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 (People's Assembly) or BSDP NH [Aleksandr KOZULIN]; 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	NA	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	4,076,140 (July 2006 est.)	9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	0.99% (2006 est.)	-0.41% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways	total: 4,128 km narrow gauge: 4,128 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2005)	total: 5,512 km broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)
Religions	Anglican 14.9%, Roman Catholic 12.4%, Presbyterian 10.9%, Methodist 2.9%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9.4%, other 3.3%, unspecified 17.2%, none 26% (2001 census)	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: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems domestic: NA international: country code - 64; submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; 8 satellite earth stations - 1 InMarSat (Pacific Ocean), 7 other	general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); 3 fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	1,800,500 (2004)	3.368 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	3.53 million (2005)	5.96 million (2006)
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 (2006 est.)	1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.7% (2005 est.)	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways	-	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

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