##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Sweden (2001) - Belarus (2005)
Compare Sweden (2001) z Belarus (2005)
| Sweden (2001) | Belarus (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarnas, Gavleborgs, Gotlands, Hallands, Jamtlands, Jonkopings, Kalmar, Kronobergs, Norrbottens, Orebro, Ostergotlands, Skane, Sodermanlands, Stockholms, Uppsala, Varmlands, Vasterbottens, Vasternorrlands, Vastmanlands, Vastra Gotalands | 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:
18.19% (male 828,308; female 786,353) 15-64 years: 64.53% (male 2,911,949; female 2,814,730) 65 years and over: 17.28% (male 649,296; female 884,417) (2001 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 | grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 255 (2000 est.) | 133 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
147 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 80 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 25 (2000 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:
108 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 103 (2000 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:
449,964 sq km land: 410,934 sq km water: 39,030 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements has recently been undermined by high unemployment, rising maintenance costs, and a declining position in world markets. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe caused Sweden not to join the EU until 1995, and to forgo the introduction of the euro in 1999. | 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 | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$133 billion expenditures: $125.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Stockholm | Minsk |
| Climate | temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 3,218 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 1 January 1975 | 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 Sweden conventional short form: Sweden local long form: Konungariket Sverige local short form: Sverige |
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 | Swedish krona (SEK) | - |
| Death rate | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $66.5 billion (1994) | $600 million (2004 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lyndon Lowell OLSON, Jr. embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds VAG 31, SE-11589 Stockholm mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5750 (pouch) telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00 FAX: [46] (8) 661 19 64 |
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 Jan ELIASSON chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1702 telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600 FAX: [1] (202) 467-2699 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
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 | none | 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 - donor | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole twentieth century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 2% of GDP and 2% of the jobs. In recent years, however, this extraordinarily favorable picture has been somewhat clouded by budgetary difficulties, high unemployment, and a gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. Sweden has harmonized its economic policies with those of the EU, which it joined at the start of 1995. GDP growth is forecast for 4% in 2001. | 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 | 128.819 billion kWh (1999) | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 15.9 billion kWh (1999) | 800 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 8.35 billion kWh (1999) | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 146.633 billion kWh (1999) | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
5.53% hydro: 47.24% nuclear: 45.42% other: 1.81% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea | 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | Swedish kronor per US dollar - 9.4669 (January 2001), 9.1622 (2000), 8.2624 (1999), 7.9499 (1998), 7.6349 (1997), 6.7060 (1996) | 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:
King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977) head of government: Prime Minister Goran PERSSON (since 21 March 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; prime minister elected by the Parliament; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Goran PERSSON reelected prime minister with 131 out of 349 votes |
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 | $95.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | EU 55% (Germany 11%, UK 10%, Denmark 6%, Finland 5%, France 5%), US 9%, Norway 8% (1999) | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | 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 - $197 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.2% industry: 27.9% services: 69.9% (1999) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.3% (2000 est.) | 6.4% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 15 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas | 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 | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total:
210,760 km paved: 162,707 km (including 1,428 km of expressways) unpaved: 48,053 km (1999) |
total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.7% highest 10%: 20.1% (1992) |
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 | $80 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | EU 67% (Germany 18%, UK 10%, Denmark 7%, France 6%), Norway 8%, US 6% (1999) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) |
| Independence | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 1.2% (2000 est.) | 17.4% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | 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) | 29 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet) | 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 | 4.4 million (2000 est.) | 4.305 million (31 December 2003) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.) | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
2,205 km border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 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% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 68% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
| Languages | Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 36.5%, Moderates 22.7%, Left Party 12%, Christian Democrats 11.8%, Center Party 5.1%, Liberal Party 4.7%, Greens 4.5%; seats by party - Social Democrats 131, Moderates 82, Left Party 43, Christian Democrats 42, Center Party 18, Liberal Party 17, Greens 16 |
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:
79.71 years male: 77.07 years female: 82.5 years (2001 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: 99% (1979 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines territorial sea: 12 NM (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas) |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total:
167 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,205,370 GRT/1,663,091 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 31, combination ore/oil 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 29, railcar carrier 1, roll on/roll off 40, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 17 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 billion (FY98) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY98) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,062,566 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,803,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
51,506 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Flag Day, 6 June | 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:
Swede(s) adjective: Swedish |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic | NA |
| Natural resources | zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | natural gas 84 km | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Lennart DALEUS]; Christian Democratic Party [Alf SVENSSON]; Communist Workers' Party [Rolf HAGEL]; Green Party [no formal leader but party spokesperson is Briger SCHLAUG]; Left Party or VP (formerly Communist) [Gudrun SCHYMAN]; Liberal People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Bo LUNDGREN]; New Democracy Party [Vivianne FRANZEN]; Social Democratic Party [Goran PERSSON] | 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 | NA | NA |
| Population | 8,875,053 (July 2001 est.) | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.02% (2001 est.) | -0.09% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 8.25 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
12,821 km (includes 3,594 km of privately owned railways) standard gauge: 12,821 km 1.435-m gauge (7,918 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1998) |
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 | Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent domestic and international facilities; automatic system domestic: coaxial and multiconductor cables carry most of the voice traffic; parallel microwave radio relay systems carry some additional telephone channels international: 5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Sweden shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway) |
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 | 6.017 million (December 1998) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.835 million (October 1998) | 1.118 million (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) |
| Waterways | 2,052 km
note: navigable for small steamers and barges |
2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.