Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2002) - Belarus (2006)

Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2002) z Belarus (2006)

	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2002)	Belarus (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick	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: 28.9% (male 17,093; female 16,497) 15-64 years: 64.8% (male 38,718; female 36,689) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 3,188; female 4,209) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741) 15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 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 (2001)	86 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002)	total: 41 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: 12 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 45 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 35 (2006)
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 the United Kingdom 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. Since his election in July 1994 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	17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $94.6 million expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.)	revenues: $5.903 billion expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.)
Capital	Kingstown	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; 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	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: 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: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)	-
Death rate	6.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$167.2 million (2000) (2000)	$4.662 billion (30 June 2005 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 Karen B. STEWART 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 Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: 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; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly
Economic aid - recipient	$47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) (1995)	$194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Bananas and other agricultural products remain the staple of this lower-middle income country's economy. Although tourism and other services have been growing moderately in recent years, the government has been ineffective at introducing new industries. Unemployment remains high, and economic growth hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994 and 1995, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following September 11. St. Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector, but its restrictive secrecy laws have come under international review. As of June 2001, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force's list of noncooperative jurisdictions.	Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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. During 2005, the government 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, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.
Electricity - consumption	76.3 million kWh (1999)	34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (1999)	800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (1999)	7 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	82 million kWh (1999)	30 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 73% hydro: 27% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)	-
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-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 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. 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 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 allowing president to run in a third election 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	$53.7 million (2000 est.)	14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
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 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005)
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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red
GDP	purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 9.3% industry: 31.6% services: 59.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2001 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	-0.8% (2001 est.)	9.2% (2005 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; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Heliports	-	1 (2006)
Highways	total: 1,040 km paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1996)	-
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; small-scale cannabis cultivation	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	$185.6 million (2000 est.)	360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
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 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005)
Independence	27 October 1979 (from UK)	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.9% (1997 est.)	15.6% (2005 est.)
Industries	food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate	16.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-0.4% (2001 est.)	10.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO	BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	15 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	1,310 sq km (2003)
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.)	4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.)	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
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: 10.26% permanent crops: 17.95% other: 71.79% (1998 est.)	arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
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 March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3	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 four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage 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: 72.82 years male: 71.07 years female: 74.63 years (2002 est.)	total population: 69.08 years male: 63.47 years female: 74.98 years (2006 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: 788 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,000,660 GRT/10,702,776 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 142, cargo 382, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 3, container 47, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 48, refrigerated cargo 39, roll on/roll off 52, short-sea passenger 13, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Anguilla 1, Argentina 1, Australia 2, Bahamas, The 1, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 2, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 14, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 135, Colombia 1, Croatia 12, Cyprus 6, Denmark 16, Egypt 7, Estonia 6, France 27, Germany 12, Greece 156, Guyana 7, Hong Kong 23, Iceland 1, India 11, Indonesia 3, Israel 2, Italy 19, Japan 1, Kenya 4, Latvia 5, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Man, Isle of 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Monaco 6, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 33, Pakistan 5, Panama 2, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 2, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 4, Slovenia 7, South Korea 4, Spain 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 10, Syria 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 8, United Arab Emirates 45, United Kingdom 16, United States 25, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.)	-
Military branches	Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$NA	$420.5 million (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA%	1.4% (FY02)
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	-7.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
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)	pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH] opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; 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) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population	116,394 (July 2002 est.)	10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	0.37% (2002 est.)	-0.06% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Kingstown	-
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: 5,512 km broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005)
Religions	Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, 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: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 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 (2006 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: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four 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); 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)	3,284,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	4.098 million (2005)
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	2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)	1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	22% (1997 est.) (1997 est.)	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways	none	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

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