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Compare Northern Mariana Islands (2005) - Belarus (2008)

Compare Northern Mariana Islands (2005) z Belarus (2008)

 Northern Mariana Islands (2005)Belarus (2008)
 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 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: 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: 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 coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 5 (2004 est.) 67 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


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


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
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: 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. 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 19.51 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $193 million


expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.)
revenues: $15.35 billion


expenditures: $16.78 billion (2007 est.)
Capital Saipan 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 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 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: 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: Byelarus'


former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external NA $9.272 billion (30 June 2007)
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 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 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 none 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 - recipient extensive funding from US $53.76 million (2005)
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 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. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 8% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of 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. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has 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 - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy.
Electricity - consumption NA kWh 29.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh 5.053 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh 9.091 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production NA kWh 29.08 billion kWh (2005)
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-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 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 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates the US dollar is used Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003)
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 Sergey SIDORSKIY (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, 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 NA 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities garments machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners US (2000) Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)
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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA


industry: NA


services: NA
agriculture: 8.7%


industry: 40.6%


services: 50.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate NA 6.9% (2007 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
Heliports 1 (2004 est.) 1 (2007)
Highways total: 362 km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km (1991)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
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 NA 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners US, Japan (2000) Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)
Independence none (commonwealth in political union with the US) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA 5% (2007 est.)
Industries tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, 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.)
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) 1.2% (1997 est.) 8.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation Interpol (subbureau) BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, 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 NA 1,310 sq km (2003)
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) 4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation NA agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries 0 km total: 3,098 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use arable land: 13.04%


permanent crops: 4.35%


other: 82.61% (2001)
arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 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: 75.88 years


male: 73.31 years


female: 78.61 years (2005 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: 97%


male: 97%


female: 96% (1980 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 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 - Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1.4% (2005 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.) 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines - gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]


opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party (unregistered) [Pavel SEVERINETS]; Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada (People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Aleksandr KOZULIN; Anatoliy LEVKOVICH, acting]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


other opposition includes: Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergey YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom (unregistered) [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; 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) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH, Sergey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population 80,362 (July 2005 est.) 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.61% (2005 est.) -0.41% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Saipan, Tinian -
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways - total: 5,512 km


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


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)
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: 1.06 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; 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: 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 21,000 (2000) 3.368 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 3,000 (2000) 5.96 million (2006)
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.) 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA 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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