##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Sudan (2004) - Belarus (2005)
Compare Sudan (2004) z Belarus (2005)
| Sudan (2004) | 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: 43.7% (male 8,730,609; female 8,358,569)
15-64 years: 54.1% (male 10,588,634; female 10,571,199) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 490,869; female 408,282) (2004 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 (2003 est.) | 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 (2004 est.) |
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: 63
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
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 | 35.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.402 billion
expenditures: $2.546 billion, including capital expenditures of $304 million (2003 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 | 9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $16.09 billion (2003 est.) | $600 million (2004 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Gerard M. GALLUCCI
embassy: Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: [249] (11) 774611 or 774700 FAX: [249] (11) 774137 note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum (see http://usembassy.egnet.net/sudan.htm) |
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'Affaires, 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 affected Sudan's neighbors by drawing them into the fighting and by forcing them to provide shelter to refugees, to contend with infiltration by rebel groups, and to serve as mediators; Sudan has provided shelter to Ugandan refugees and cover to Lord's Resistance Army soldiers; 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 and currently effectively administers the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of the Treaty Line; Sudan has pledged to work with the Central African Republic to stem violent skirmishes over water and grazing among related pastoral populations along the border | 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 | $172 million (2001) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, yet it still faces formidable economic problems, starting from its low level of per capita output and extending to its devastating civil stife. 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 sustain GDP growth at 6.1% in 2003 and 7% in 2004. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 39% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic instability - including the long-standing civil war between the Muslim north and the Christian/pagan south, the ethnic purges in Darfur, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - 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) |
| 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, 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 - 260.983 (2003), 263.306 (2002), 258.702 (2001), 257.122 (2000), 252.55 (1999) | 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 Field Marshall 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 Field Marshall 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) election results: Field Marshall 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: 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 40.9%, Saudi Arabia 17.2%, UAE 5.4% (2003) | 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 - $70.95 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38.7%
industry: 20.3% services: 41% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.9% (2003 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 (2003 est.) | 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 | Saudi Arabia 16.3%, China 14.2%, UK 5%, Germany 4.9%, India 4.8%, France 4.1% (2003) | 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: 64.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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) | 8.8% (2003 est.) | 17.4% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, 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) |
| 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: 6.83%
permanent crops: 0.18% other: 92.99% (2001) |
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 |
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: 58.13 years
male: 56.96 years female: 59.36 years (2004 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,466 GRT/26,973 DWT
by type: livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Sudanese People's Armed Forces (SPAF), Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Forces | 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: 9,339,775 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 5,743,783 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 442,242 (2004 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 | -0.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 156 km; oil 2,365 km; refined products 810 km (2004) | 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 Party [Sadiq al-MAHDI] | NA |
| Population | 39,148,162 (July 2004 est.) | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA (2004 est.) | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.64% (2004 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: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km .600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2003) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.2 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 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: country code - 249; 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 | 900,000 (2003) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 650,000 (2003) | 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 | 4.97 children born/woman (2004 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 | 4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2004) | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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