Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2001) | Belarus (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick | 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:
29.61% (male 17,466; female 16,865) 15-64 years: 64.04% (male 38,074; female 36,179) 65 years and over: 6.35% (male 3,162; female 4,196) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 885,265; female 848,516)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 3,456,769; female 3,652,766) 65 years and over: 14.3% (male 490,529; female 988,306) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 124 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 67 (2002) |
Area | total:
389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Disputed between France and Great Britain in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969, 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 | 17.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.7 million expenditures: $98.6 million, including capital expenditures of $25.7 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Kingstown | Minsk |
Climate | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 84 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 27 October 1979 | 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:
none conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
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 | 6.16 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $99.3 million (1998) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ellsworth JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 |
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 encouraging illegal border crossing; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
Economic aid - recipient | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of this lower-middle-income economy. The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and a high unemployment rate persists. The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development; tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in both 1994 and 1995. The tourism sector has considerable potential for development over the next decade. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and an improvement in tourism. There is a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial sector whose particularly restrictive secrecy laws have caused some international concern. | 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. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder. 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 | 76.3 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 | 82 million kWh (1999) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
73.17% hydro: 26.83% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2% | 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 - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General David JACK (since 29 September 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) 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 is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10 July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 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 (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 | $53.7 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Caricom countries 49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995) | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern | 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 a Belarusian national ornament in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $322 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10.6% industry: 17.5% services: 71.9% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 15 N, 61 12 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | 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 |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 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 | transshipment 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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations |
Imports | $185.6 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 28%, UK 13% (1995) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) |
Independence | 27 October 1979 (from UK) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.9% (1997 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 16.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 42.8% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NAM (observer), NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | 23 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in 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 | 67,000 (1984 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) | 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:
10% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 36% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, French patois | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
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:
72.56 years male: 70.83 years female: 74.34 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, 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 exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
800 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,705,336 GRT/10,134,002 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 131, cargo 395, chemical tanker 29, combination bulk 12, combination ore/oil 1, container 46, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 56, refrigerated cargo 42, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 11, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 4, Ireland 1, France 1, Greece 3, Hong Kong 1, Croatia 10, India 1, Japan 2, Monaco 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Pakistan 1, Russia 1, Slovenia 5, UAE 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 86,654 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (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 Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat | NA |
Natural resources | hydropower, cropland | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | -7.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU) | 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 | 115,942 (July 2001 est.) | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.4% (2001 est.) | -0.12% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kingstown | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 77,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Hindu, other Protestant | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia |
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 | 20,500 (1998) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 2.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1997 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | none | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |