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Compare Northern Mariana Islands (2005) - Belarus (2002)

Compare Northern Mariana Islands (2005) z Belarus (2002)

 Northern Mariana Islands (2005)Belarus (2002)
 Northern Mariana IslandsBelarus
Administrative divisions none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order: Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name


note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses
Age structure 0-14 years: 19.9% (male 8,332/female 7,646)


15-64 years: 78.5% (male 26,121/female 36,982)


65 years and over: 1.6% (male 646/female 635) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)


15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628)


65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 5 (2004 est.) 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 33


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 19


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 11 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 103


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 11


914 to 1,523 m: 14


under 914 m: 65 (2002)
Area total: 477 sq km


land: 477 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. 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 19.51 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $193 million


expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.)
revenues: $4 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Capital Saipan Minsk
Climate tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 1,482 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996
Country name conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands


conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands


former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
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 - Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external NA $770 million (2001 est.)
Dependency status commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs -
Diplomatic representation from the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO


chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604


FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805


consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international none boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding
Economic aid - recipient extensive funding from US $194.3 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
Electricity - consumption NA kWh 26.78 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh 300 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh 4.15 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production NA kWh 24.66 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development 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-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census) Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates the US dollar is used Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles
Executive branch chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)


head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since 14 January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENAVENTE (since 14 January 2002)


cabinet: NA


elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held November 2005)


election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 42.8%
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001)


cabinet: Council of Ministers


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


election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
Exports NA $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities garments machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals
Exports - partners US (2000) Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000)
Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September calendar year
Flag description blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red
GDP - purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA


industry: NA


services: NA
agriculture: 13%


industry: 42%


services: 45% (2000)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA 4.1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 15 12 N, 145 45 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean 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: 362 km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km (1991)
total: 98,200 km


paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 5%


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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations
Imports NA $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners US, Japan (2000) Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000)
Independence none (commonwealth in political union with the US) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA 5.4% (2001 est.)
Industries tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 7.11 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.2% (1997 est.) 46.1% (2001 est.)
International organization participation Interpol (subbureau) CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 23 (2002)
Irrigated land NA 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District 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 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (June 1995) 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation NA industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services 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: 13.04%


permanent crops: 4.35%


other: 82.61% (2001)
arable land: 29.76%


permanent crops: 0.69%


other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
Languages Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1


note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO)
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless
Life expectancy at birth total population: 75.88 years


male: 73.31 years


female: 78.61 years (2005 est.)
total population: 68.28 years


male: 62.3 years


female: 74.56 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97%


male: 97%


female: 96% (1980 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 99%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Oceania Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
none (landlocked)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the US -
Military branches - Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $156 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 86,396 (2002 est.)
National holiday Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) 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: NA


adjective: NA
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) NA
Natural resources arable land, fish forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 8.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 80,362 (July 2005 est.) 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 2.61% (2005 est.) -0.14% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Saipan, Tinian Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios - 3.02 million (1997)
Railways - total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.)
Religions Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.71 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female


total population: 0.78 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 (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 1-670; 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's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational


international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Telephones - main lines in use 21,000 (2000) 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 3,000 (2000) 8,167 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 1.27 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Waterways - NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
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