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Compare Nicaragua (2001) - Belarus (2005)

Compare Nicaragua (2001) z Belarus (2005)

 Nicaragua (2001)Belarus (2005)
 NicaraguaBelarus
Administrative divisions 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* 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:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141)

15-64 years:
58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096)

65 years and over:
2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 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 coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 182 (2000 est.) 133 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
11

2,438 to 3,047 m:
2

1,524 to 2,437 m:
3

914 to 1,523 m:
3

under 914 m:
3 (2000 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:
171

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
25

under 914 m:
145 (2000 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:
129,494 sq km

land:
120,254 sq km

water:
9,240 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than the state of New York slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. 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 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues:
$734 million

expenditures:
$836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
Capital Managua Minsk
Climate tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 910 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 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:
Republic of Nicaragua

conventional short form:
Nicaragua

local long form:
Republica de Nicaragua

local short form:
Nicaragua
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 gold cordoba (NIO) -
Death rate 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $6.4 billion (2000 est.) $600 million (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Oliver P. GARZA

embassy:
Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua

mailing address:
APO AA 34021

telephone:
[505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033

FAX:
[505] (2) 669074
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 Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina

chancery:
1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 939-6570

FAX:
[1] (202) 939-6542

consulate(s) general:
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, 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 disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica 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 NA $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001. 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 2.265 billion kWh (1999) 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 20 million kWh (1999) 800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 100 million kWh (1999) 3.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 2.349 billion kWh (1999) 30 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
67.26%

hydro:
17.71%

nuclear:
0%

other:
15.03% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mogoton 2,438 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996) 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 Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:
president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years

election results:
Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33%
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 $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999) Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamention in red
GDP purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
31.6%

industry:
22.8%

services:
45.6% (1999)
agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5% (2000 est.) 6.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 13 00 N, 85 00 W 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note - 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 (2004 est.)
Highways total:
16,382 km

paved:
1,818 km

unpaved:
14,564 km (1998)
total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
1.6%

highest 10%:
39.8% (1993)
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing 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 $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999) Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)
Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 4.4% (2000 est.) 4% (2004 est.)
Industries food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate 33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) 11% (2000 est.) 17.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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, WTO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 3 (2000) -
Irrigated land 880 sq km (1993 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly) 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 1.7 million (1999) 4.305 million (31 December 2003)
Labor force - by occupation services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total:
1,231 km

border countries:
Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 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:
9%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
46%

forests and woodland:
27%

other:
17% (1993 est.)
arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages Spanish (official)

note:
English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001)

election results:
percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1
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:
69.05 years

male:
67.1 years

female:
71.11 years (2001 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:
65.7%

male:
64.6%

female:
66.6% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Europe
Maritime claims continental shelf:
natural prolongation

territorial sea:
200 NM
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine none (2000 est.) -
Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $26 million (FY98) $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
779,267 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
58,232 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Independence Day, 15 September (1821) 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:
Nicaraguan(s)

adjective:
Nicaraguan
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes NA
Natural resources gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 56 km gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] 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 National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups NA
Population 4,918,393 (July 2001 est.) 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 50% (2000 est.) 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.15% (2001 est.) -0.09% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios 1.24 million (1997) -
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 85%, Protestant Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female

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

total population:
1 male(s)/female (2001 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 16 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment

domestic:
low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System

international:
satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 140,000 (1996) 3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 7,911 (1997) 1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.) 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)
Waterways 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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