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Compare Sao Tome and Principe (2003) - Belarus (2008)
Compare Sao Tome and Principe (2003) z Belarus (2008)
| Sao Tome and Principe (2003) | Belarus (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 |
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: 47.7% (male 42,480; female 41,411)
15-64 years: 48.3% (male 41,043; female 43,986) 65 years and over: 4% (male 3,197; female 3,766) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 2 (2002) | 67 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
| Area | total: 1,001 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. Though the first free elections were held in 1991, the political environment has been one of continued instability with frequent changes in leadership and coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea is likely to have a significant impact on the country's economy. | After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. |
| Birth rate | 41.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $58 million
expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 est.) |
revenues: $15.35 billion
expenditures: $16.78 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | Sao Tome | 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; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 209 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990 | 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: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe |
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 | dobra (STD) | - |
| Death rate | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $253.8 million (2000) | $9.272 billion (30 June 2007) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands | chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580 | chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
| Disputes - international | none | as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security |
| Economic aid - recipient | $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program | $53.76 million (2005) |
| Economy - overview | This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 28 years ago. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices brighten prospects for 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. Sao Tome's success in implementing structural reforms has been rewarded by international donors, who pledged increased assistance in 2001. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic that substantial petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea; production could begin as early as 2004. | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. Since 2005, the government has re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 8% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy. |
| Electricity - consumption | 15.81 million kWh (2001) | 29.49 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 5.053 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 9.091 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 17 million kWh (2001) | 29.08 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 41.2%
hydro: 58.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion | 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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese) | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | dobras per US dollar - NA (2002), 8,842.11 (2001), 7,978.17 (2000), 7,118.96 (1999), 6,883.24 (1998) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Maria das NEVES (since 7 October 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergey SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Netherlands 30.1%, Poland 11.8%, Canada 9.7%, Germany 7.5%, Philippines 7.5%, Spain 7.5%, Belgium 6.5%, France 4.3%, Portugal 4.3% (2002) | Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | 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 - $200 million (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 10% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 40.6% services: 50.6% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 6.9% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 7 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
| Highways | total: 320 km
paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1999 est.) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 23.5% (2002) |
| Illicit drugs | - | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | Portugal 51.4%, Germany 10.1%, UK 7.6%, Belgium 6.3% (2002) | Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006) |
| Independence | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 46.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 48.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2002 est.) | 8.3% (2007 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
| Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,310 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) | 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 | NA | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) |
| Labor force - by occupation | population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
note: shortages of skilled workers |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,098 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
| Land use | arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 41% other: 57% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
| Languages | Portuguese (official) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8 |
bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic based on massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.28 years
male: 64.79 years female: 67.82 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 70.05 years
male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.3% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census) |
| Location | Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Africa | Europe |
| Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,595 GRT/99,873 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 15, chemical tanker 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 1, Kenya 1, Portugal 1, Syria 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Security Police | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $400,000 (FY01) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (FY01) | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 36,905 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 19,443 (2003 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) | 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: Sao Tomean(s)
adjective: Sao Tomean |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | NA | NA |
| Natural resources | fish, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -2.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007) |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties | pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]
opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party (unregistered) [Pavel SEVERINETS]; Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada (People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Aleksandr KOZULIN; Anatoliy LEVKOVICH, acting]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergey YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom (unregistered) [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH, Sergey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS] |
| Population | 175,883 (July 2003 est.) | 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 3.18% (2003 est.) | -0.41% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Santo Antonio, Sao Tome | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| 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 (2006) |
| Religions | Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist) | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: adequate facilities
domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital
domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); 3 fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 4,600 (2000) | 3.368 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,942 (1997) | 5.96 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 5.88 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 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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