##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Panama (2003) - Belarus (2005)
Compare Panama (2003) z Belarus (2005)
| Panama (2003) | Belarus (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and Veraguas | 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: 30.6% (male 461,670; female 443,671)
15-64 years: 63.3% (male 950,089; female 924,038) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 86,006; female 95,310) (2003 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 | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 103 (2002) | 133 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 41
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2002) |
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: 62
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 50 (2002) |
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: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. | 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 | 20.78 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Panama | Minsk |
| Climate | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 2,490 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983 and 1994 | 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 Panama
conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
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 | balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD) | - |
| Death rate | 6.25 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $7 billion (2002 est.) | $600 million (2004 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Linda Ellen WATT
embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado Postal 0816-02561, Zona 5, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
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 Roberto ALFARO Estripeaut
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8416 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa |
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 | 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 | $197.1 million (1995) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Panama's economy is based primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-02. The government has been backing public works programs, tax reforms, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism in order to stimulate growth. | 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 | 3.681 billion kWh (2001) | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 118 million kWh (2001) | 800 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 43 million kWh (2001) | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 4.039 billion kWh (2001) | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 61.3% nuclear: 0% other: 1.7% (2001) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources | 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, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | balboas per US dollar - 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999), 1 (1998) | 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 Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez elected president; percent of vote - Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (PA) 44%, Martin TORRIJOS (PRD) 37% note: government coalition - PA, MOLIRENA, Democratic Change, MORENA, PLN, PS |
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 | NA (2001) | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999) | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | US 47.8%, Sweden 5.8%, Costa Rica 4.8%, Honduras 4.4% (2002) | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center | 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 - $18.06 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 17% services: 76% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0.7% (2002 est.) | 6.4% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 80 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with 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: 11,400 km
paved: 3,944 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,456 km (1999) |
total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | major cocaine transshipment point and primary money laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem | 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 (2001) | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1999) | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | US 34.3%, Colombia 5.9%, Japan 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.2%, Venezuela 4.2% (2002) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) |
| Independence | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0.5% (2002 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 21.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 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) | 1.1% (2001 est.) | 17.4% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, 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) | 6 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 320 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) |
| Labor force | 1.1 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2000 est.) |
4.305 million (31 December 2003) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 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: 6.72%
permanent crops: 2.08% other: 91.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (71 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 34, PA 18, PDC 5, PS 4, MOLIRENA 3, PLN 3, Democratic Change 2, PRC 1, MORENA 1 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
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: 72.32 years
male: 69.97 years female: 74.79 years (2003 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: 92.6% male: 93.2% female: 91.9% (2003 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 Colombia and Costa Rica | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 4,860 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 122,543,755 GRT/184,910,607 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 5, bulk 1,443, cargo 846, chemical tanker 376, combination bulk 72, combination ore/oil 17, container 588, liquefied gas 207, livestock carrier 6, multi-functional large-load carrier 12, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 537, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 287, roll on/roll off 107, short-sea passenger 41, specialized tanker 33, vehicle carrier 240 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 2, Angola 1, Antigua and Barbuda 1, Argentina 11, Australia 13, Austria 2, The Bahamas 5, Belgium 2, Belize 6, Brazil 6, British Virgin Islands 8, Cambodia 1, Canada 9, Chile 12, China 259, Colombia 14, Croatia 2, Cuba 20, Cyprus 3, Denmark 3, Dominican Republic 1, Ecuador 3, Egypt 16, Equatorial Guinea 1, France 9, Germany 72, Greece 523, Haiti 1, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 299, Iceland 1, India 18, Indonesia 48, Ireland 1, Israel 5, Italy 9, Japan 1,642, Kenya 1, Kuwait 2, Latvia 8, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malaysia 18, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 8, Monaco 112, Netherlands 19, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 98, Paraguay 1, Peru 15, Philippines 49, Poland 5, Portugal 7, Puerto Rico 2, Romania 7, Russia 12, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Saudi Arabia 4, Seychelles 1, Singapore 112, South Africa 3, South Korea 342, Spain 52, Sri Lanka 3, Sudan 1, Sweden 2, Switzerland 81, Taiwan 334, Thailand 14, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 4, Ukraine 1, UAE 54, UK 73, US 115, Venezuela 6 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" | - |
| Military branches | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $128 million (FY99) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY99) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 797,456 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 544,967 (2003 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) | 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: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area | NA |
| Natural resources | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 130 km (2001) | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Arnulfista Party or PA [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Civic Renewal Party or PRC [Serguei DE LA ROSA]; Democratic Change [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Raul ARANGO Gasteazopo]; National Renovation Movement or MORENA [Pedro VALLARINO Cox]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Ramon MORALES]; Popular Party or PP (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC) [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Solidarity Party or PS [Samuel LEWIS Galindo] | 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 | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP | NA |
| Population | 2,960,784 (July 2003 est.) | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 37% (1999 est.) | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.36% (2003 est.) | -0.09% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of Colon area), Vacamonte | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 355 km
broad gauge: 76 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
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 15% | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: domestic and international facilities well developed
domestic: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
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 | 396,000 (1997) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,000 (1997) | 1.118 million (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 16% (2002 est.) | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) |
| Waterways | 882 km
note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal |
2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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