Compare Slovakia (2004) - Belarus (2007)

Compare Slovakia (2004) z Belarus (2007)

	Slovakia (2004)	Belarus (2007)

Administrative divisions	8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky	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: 17.5% (male 485,523; female 463,173) 15-64 years: 70.8% (male 1,908,425; female 1,929,861) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 239,081; female 397,504) (2004 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	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports	34 (2003 est.)	67 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 17 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.)	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: 17 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.)	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: 48,845 sq km land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about twice the size of New Hampshire	slightly smaller than Kansas
Background	In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.	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	10.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $12.03 billion expenditures: $13.69 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)	revenues: $13.24 billion expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Bratislava	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	temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership	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: Slovak Republic conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko	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	Slovak koruna (SKK)	-
Death rate	9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$18.31 billion (2003 est.)	$5.929 billion (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Scott N. THAYER embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Rastislav KACER chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438	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	Hungary amended its status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, many of whom had protested the law; Slovakia and Hungary have renewed discussions on ways to resolve differences over the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam on the Danube, with possible resort again to the ICJ for final resolution	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	ODA $113 million (2000),; $92 million EU structural adjustment funds (2000 est.)	$53.76 million (2005)
Economy - overview	Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-03 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001-03, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003, remains the economy's Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2004, especially cutting the budget deficit, containing inflation, and strengthening the health care system.	Belarus's economy in 2006 posted more than 8% growth. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2006, 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. 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, 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 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. This growth will be threatened in 2007, however, when Russia raises energy prices closer to world market prices for Belarus. Russia is planning to increase Belarusian gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm for 2007, gradually increasing to world prices by 2011. Russia has also 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 - 70% will go to Russia in 2007, 80% in 2008, and 85% in 2009.
Electricity - consumption	24.41 billion kWh (2001)	29.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	5.141 billion kWh (2001)	5.053 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	1.381 billion kWh (2001)	9.091 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	30.29 billion kWh (2001)	29.08 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests	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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants	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	Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996)	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	koruny per US dollar - 36.7729 (2003), 45.3267 (2002), 48.3548 (2001), 46.0352 (2000), 41.3628 (1999)	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Ivan MIKLOS (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pal CSAKY (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pavol RUSKO (since May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 3 April and 17 April 2004 (next to be held April 2009); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Ivan GASPAROVIC elected president in runoff; percent of vote - Ivan GASPAROVIC 59.9%, Vladimir MECIAR 40.1%; Mikulas DZURINDA reelected prime minister October 2002 note: government coalition - SDKU, SMK, KDH, ANO	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 NA 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	machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999)	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners	Germany 37.2%, Czech Republic 12%, Austria 9.8%, Italy 5.4%, Poland 4.7%, US 4.7%, Hungary 4.2% (2003)	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 equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue	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 - $72.29 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 5.9% industry: 47.9% services: 46.2% (2003)	agriculture: 9.2% industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $13,300 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3.9% (2003 est.)	9.9% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	48 40 N, 19 30 E	53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Heliports	1 (2003 est.)	1 (2007)
Highways	total: 42,717 km paved: 37,036 km (including 296 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,681 km (2000)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 5.1% highest 10%: 18.2% (1992)	lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market	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 transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999)	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners	Germany 27.5%, Czech Republic 18.3%, Russia 10.8%, Austria 6.4%, Italy 5.6%, Poland 4.1%, Hungary 4% (2003)	Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)
Independence	1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	7.2% (2003 est.)	15.6% (2005 est.)
Industries	metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate	total: 7.62 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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)	8.6% (2003 est.)	7% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, 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)
Irrigated land	1,740 sq km (1998 est.)	1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council)	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	2.58 million (2003)	4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 8.9%, industry 29.3%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8.2%, services 45.6% (1994)	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,524 km border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 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: 30.16% permanent crops: 2.62% other: 67.22% (2001)	arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
Languages	Slovak (official), Hungarian	Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system	civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, SMER 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 69 (SDKU 22, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 12), opposition 81 (HZDS 26, Smer 25, KSS 9, Free Forum 6, People's Union 5, and independents 10)	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: 74.19 years male: 70.21 years female: 78.37 years (2004 est.)	total population: 70.05 years male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census)
Location	Central Europe, south of Poland	Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references	Europe	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 41,891 GRT/63,185 DWT by type: bulk 4, cargo 4 foreign-owned: Bulgaria 3, Estonia 1, Greece 1, India 1, Liberia 1, Panama 1 (2004 est.)	-
Military branches	Ground Forces (including Home Guard [Domobrana]), Air and Air Defense Forces (January 2003)	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$406 million (2002)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.89% (2002)	1.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 1,477,017 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 1,129,935 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 43,029 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)	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: Slovak(s) adjective: Slovak	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards	NA	NA
Natural resources	brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate	0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2004)	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; People's Union or LU [Gustav KRAJCI]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef SEVC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Peter SULOVSKY]	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 [Aleksandr 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 (People's Assembly) or BSDP NH [Aleksandr KOZULIN]; 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	Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG	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	5,423,567 (July 2004 est.)	9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	0.14% (2004 est.)	-0.41% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bratislava, Komarno	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998)	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways	total: 3,661 km broad gauge: 100 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,512 km 1.435-m gauge (1,588 km electrified) narrow gauge: 49 km (1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge) (2003)	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	Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5%	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 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: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: country code - 421; three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services	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	1,294,700 (2003)	3.368 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	3,678,800 (2003)	5.96 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004)	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south	generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate	1.31 children born/woman (2004 est.)	1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	15.2% (2003 est.)	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways	172 km (on Danube River) (2004)	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

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