Senegal (2002) | Belarus (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
note: there may be another region called Matam |
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: 43.5% (male 2,321,789; female 2,290,105)
15-64 years: 53.4% (male 2,710,178; female 2,943,554) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 159,445; female 164,500) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 20 (2001) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 103
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2002) |
Area | total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Dakota | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. | 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 | 36.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.373 billion
expenditures: $1.373 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Dakar | Minsk |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 531 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001 | 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: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 8.14 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.1 billion (2002 est.) | $770 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Amadou L. BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO
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 | Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities in Guinea-Bissau | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding |
Economic aid - recipient | $362.6 million (2002 est.) | $194.3 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which is linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2001. Annual inflation had been pushed down to less than 1%, but rose to an estimated 3.3% in 2001. Investment rose steadily from 13.8% of GDP in 1993 to 16.5% in 1997. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. | 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. 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 | 1.228 billion kWh (2000) | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 300 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.32 billion kWh (2000) | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
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 | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Idrissa SECK (since 4 November 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001) 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 | $1 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals |
Exports - partners | France 19%, Italy 12%, Spain 6%, Cote d'Ivoire 2% (2000) | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; 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 the Belarusian national ornament in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19%
industry: 21% services: 61% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,580 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2001 est.) | 4.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 00 N, 14 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal | 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: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km unpaved: 10,305 km (1996) |
total: 98,200 km
paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1991) |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis | 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 | $1.3 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum products | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | France 27%, Nigeria 19%, Germany 4%, US 4%, Italy 3% (2000) | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) |
Independence | 4 April 1960 (from France); complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 55.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2001 est.) | 46.1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 23 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 710 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note-the judicial system was reformed in 1992 | 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 | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70% | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 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: 11.58%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 88.23% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
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: 62.93 years
male: 61.29 years female: 64.61 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 39.1% male: 51.1% female: 28.9% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Africa | 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) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $68.6 million (FY02) | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,406,337 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,257,423 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 114,189 (2002 est.) | males: 86,396 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) | 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: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | fish, phosphates, iron ore | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties | 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 | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers | NA |
Population | 10,589,571 (July 2002 est.) | 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 54% (2001 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.91% (2002 est.) | -0.14% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double-tracked) (2001) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
Religions | Muslim 94%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic) | 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 234,916 (2001) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 373,965 (2001) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 897 km
note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river |
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |