##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Swaziland (2002) - Belarus (2006)
Compare Swaziland (2002) z Belarus (2006)
| Swaziland (2002) | Belarus (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 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: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)
15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 18 (2001) | 86 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 41
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: 12 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
total: 45
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 35 (2006) |
| Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. | 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, 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 | 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 ) |
revenues: $5.903 billion
expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | 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 | varies from tropical to near temperate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted | 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: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
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 | lilangeni (SZL) | - |
| Death rate | 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $336 million (2001 est.) | $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
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 Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
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 | Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly |
| Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative. | Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, 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. During 2005, the government 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 continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. |
| Electricity - consumption | 900.66 million kWh (2000) | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 800 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (2000) |
7 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 362 million kWh (2000) | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 56%
hydro: 44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | 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, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
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 | African 97%, European 3% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
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 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 allowing president to run in a third election 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 | $702 million f.o.b. (2001) | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999) | Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally | 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 - $4.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 43% services: 47% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6% services: 59.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 9.2% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 3,800 km
paved: 1,064 km unpaved: 2,736 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 | $850 million f.o.b. (2001) | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000) | Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005) |
| Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 15.6% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.5% (2001 est.) | 10.3% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2001) | - |
| Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,310 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) |
| Labor force | NA | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) |
| Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 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: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 89.53% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
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 four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage 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: 37 years
male: 36.35 years female: 37.66 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 63.47 years female: 74.98 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.3% male: 78% female: 78.4% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Africa | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY01/02) | $420.5 million (2006) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.75% (FY00/01) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | 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: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | drought | NA |
| Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] | 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 [Alyaksandr 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 Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; 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 | NA | 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 | 1,123,605
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
10,293,011 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.63% (2002 est.) | -0.06% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 170,000 (1999) | - |
| Railways | total: 297 km
narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001) |
total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005) |
| Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | 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: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 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 (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly
domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four 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); 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 | 38,500 (2001) | 3,284,300 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 45,000 (2001) | 4.098 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) |
| Waterways | none | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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