Saint Lucia (2001) | Belarus (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux Fort | 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:
32.13% (male 25,951; female 24,874) 15-64 years: 62.59% (male 48,568; female 50,430) 65 years and over: 5.28% (male 3,120; female 5,235) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 135 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.) |
Area | total:
620 sq km land: 610 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. | 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 | 21.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$141.2 million expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (FY97/98 est.) |
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Castries | Minsk |
Climate | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 158 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 22 February 1979 | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
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 | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $131.6 million (1998) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia | 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 Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728 consulate(s) general: Miami and 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 | none | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
Economic aid - recipient | $51.8 million (1995) | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The recent changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. Improvement in the construction sector and growth of the tourism industry helped expand GDP in 1998-99. The agriculture sector registered its fifth year of decline in 1997 primarily because of a severe decline in banana production. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean, and the government is beginning to develop regulations for the small offshore financial sector. | Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 million kWh (1999) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 110 million kWh (1999) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dr. Perlette LOUISY (since September 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
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); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002) 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 | $68.3 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | UK 50%, US 24%, Caricom countries 16% (1995) | Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border | 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 - $700 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10.7% industry: 32.3% services: 57% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2000 est.) | 6.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 53 N, 60 68 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 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
1,210 km paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1996) |
total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | 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 | $319.4 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 22%, UK 11%, Japan 5%, Canada 4% (1995) | Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003) |
Independence | 22 February 1979 (from UK) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -8.9% (1997 est.) | 5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 28.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (associate), ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | 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 | 43,800 | 4.8 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry and commerce 17.7% (1983 est.) | 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:
8% permanent crops: 21% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 13% other: 53% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 23 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SLP 16, UWP 1 |
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 Predstaviteliy (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 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); 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 Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.57 years male: 69 years female: 76.39 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 67% male: 65% female: 69% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 million (FY91/92) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY91/92) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 86,716 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) | 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:
Saint Lucian(s) adjective: Saint Lucian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and volcanic activity | NA |
Natural resources | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | -4.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | National Freedom Party or NFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH] | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 158,178 (July 2001 est.) | 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.23% (2001 est.) | -0.11% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castries, Vieux Fort | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7 (plus 3 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 111,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3% | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system domestic: system is automatically switched international: direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados; international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat from Martinique |
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 | 37,000 (1997) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,600 (1997) | 1.118 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (of which two are commercial stations and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1996 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |