Compare Sudan (2003) - Belarus (2005)

Compare Sudan (2003) z Belarus (2005)

	Sudan (2003)	Belarus (2005)

Administrative divisions	26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab	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: 44% (male 8,562,412; female 8,195,201) 15-64 years: 53.8% (male 10,260,581; female 10,246,045) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 468,898; female 381,023) (2003 est.)	0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738) 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports	63 (2002)	133 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002)	total: 50 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: 21 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 10 (2002)	total: 83 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US	slightly smaller than Kansas
Background	Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement.	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 1995 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	36.48 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.6 billion expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)	revenues: $3.326 billion expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
Capital	Khartoum	Minsk
Climate	tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November)	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline	853 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR	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: Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	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	Sudanese dinar (SDD)	-
Death rate	9.59 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$15.8 billion (2002 est.)	$600 million (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137	chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL 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 (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001) chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406	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	the north-south civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting, sheltering refugees, and infiltration by rebel groups - Kenya and Uganda have acted as mediators; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi triangle"; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is economically developing the "Hala'ib triangle"	1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004
Economic aid - recipient	$187 million (1997)	$194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems, notably the low level of per capita output. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped maintain GDP growth at 5.1% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 43% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic domestic instability, lagging reforms, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - but, above all, the low starting point - ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.	Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still, the economy continues to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy and the high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods.
Electricity - consumption	2.222 billion kWh (2001)	34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	3.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	2.389 billion kWh (2001)	30 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 52.1% hydro: 47.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought	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, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	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 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 263.31 (2002), 258.7 (2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.8 (1998)	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-1990s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996	chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (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 LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in 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	NA (2001)	14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities	oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners	China 55.7%, Japan 14%, Saudi Arabia 4.9% (2002)	Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side	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 ornamention in red
GDP	purchasing power parity - $52.9 billion (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 43% industry: 17% services: 40% (1999 est.)	agriculture: 11% industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.1% (2002 est.)	6.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	15 00 N, 30 00 E	53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note	largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries	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
Heliports	2 (2002)	1 (2004 est.)
Highways	total: 11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1999 est.)	total: 79,990 km paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 5.1% highest 10%: 20% (1998)
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)	360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners	China 19.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.4%, Germany 5.5%, India 5.5%, UK 5.4%, Indonesia 4.7%, Australia 4% (2002)	Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)
Independence	1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	8.5% (1999 est.)	4% (2004 est.)
Industries	oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate	total: 65.59 deaths/1,000 live births male: 66.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)	total: 13.37 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	9.2% (2002 est.)	17.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)	CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	2 (2002)	-
Irrigated land	19,500 sq km (1998 est.)	1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts	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	11 million (1996 est.)	4.305 million (31 December 2003)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.)	agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 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: 7.03% permanent crops: 0.08% other: 92.89% (1998 est.)	arable land: 29.55% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English note: program of "Arabization" in process	Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system	based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	based on civil law system
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: NCP 355, others 5 note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI	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 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 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: 57.73 years male: 56.59 years female: 58.93 years (2003 est.)	total population: 68.72 years male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea	Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references	Africa	Europe
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,854 GRT/39,084 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)	-
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia	Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$581 million (2001 est.)	$176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.5% (1999)	1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 9,032,834 (2003 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 5,558,462 (2003 est.)	-
Military manpower - military age	18 years of age (2003 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 429,334 (2003 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 January (1956)	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: Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards	dust storms and periodic persistent droughts	NA
Natural resources	petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate	0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 156 km; oil 2,297 km; refined products 810 km (2003)	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties	Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party [leader NA]; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active
Political pressure groups and leaders	Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]	NA
Population	38,114,160 (July 2003 est.)	10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	2.71% (2003 est.)	-0.09% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin	Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways	total: 5,978 km narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line (2002)	total: 5,512 km broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)	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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.23 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage	17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000)	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' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational 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	400,000 (2000)	3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	20,000 (2000)	1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	3 (1997)	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north	generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate	5.1 children born/woman (2003 est.)	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	18.7% (2002 est.)	2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)
Waterways	5,310 km	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

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