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Compare Togo (2002) - Belarus (2008)

Compare Togo (2002) z Belarus (2008)

 Togo (2002)Belarus (2008)
 TogoBelarus
Administrative divisions 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime 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: 45.1% (male 1,195,052; female 1,187,014)


15-64 years: 52.4% (male 1,351,345; female 1,420,617)


65 years and over: 2.5% (male 56,270; female 75,203) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734)


15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690)


65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 9 (2001) 67 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002)
total: 36


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 7


914 to 1,523 m: 5


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
total: 31


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 27 (2007)
Area total: 56,785 sq km


land: 54,385 sq km


water: 2,400 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than West Virginia slightly smaller than Kansas
Background French Togoland became Togo in 1960. General Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. Most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.
Birth rate 36.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $232 million


expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
revenues: $15.35 billion


expenditures: $16.78 billion (2007 est.)
Capital Lome 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 tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 56 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 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: Togolese Republic


conventional short form: Togo


local long form: Republique Togolaise


local short form: none


former: French Togoland
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 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States -
Death rate 11.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $1.5 billion (1999) (1999) $9.272 billion (30 June 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Karl HOFMANN


embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome


mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome


telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94


FAX: [228] 221 79 52
chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002


mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723


telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelou BODJONA


chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212


FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190
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 Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security
Economic aid - recipient $201.1 million (1995) (1995) $53.76 million (2005)
Economy - overview This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most significant cash crop despite falling prices on the world market. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the XOF currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity. Togo is the world's fourth largest producer, and geological advantages keep production costs low. The recently privatized mining operation, Office Togolais des Phosphates (OTP), is slowly recovering from a steep fall in prices in the early 1990's, but continues to face the challenge of tough foreign competition, exacerbated by weakening demand. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade center. It continues to expand its duty-free export-processing zone (EPZ), launched in 1989, which has attracted enterprises from France, Italy, Scandinavia, the US, India, and China and created jobs for Togolese nationals. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has stalled. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress towards legislative elections, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place. Lack of large-scale foreign aid, deterioration of the financial sector, energy shortages, and depressed commodity prices continue to constrain economic growth. The takeover of the national power company by a Franco-Canadian consortium in 2000 should ease the energy crisis. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. Since 2005, the government has re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 8% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy.
Electricity - consumption 525.21 million kWh (2000) 29.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 5.053 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 435 million kWh


note: electricity supplied by Ghana (2000)
9.091 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 97 million kWh (2000) 29.08 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 98%


hydro: 2%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Agou 986 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas 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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 741.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003)
Executive branch chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)


head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1998 (next to be held June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president


election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%, Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%, other 13.75%
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergey 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 and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud
Exports $306 million f.o.b. (2001) 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Benin 12%, Nigeria 9%, Belgium 5%, Ghana 4% (2000) Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia 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 - $7.6 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 42%


industry: 21%


services: 37% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 8.7%


industry: 40.6%


services: 50.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2.2% (2001 est.) 6.9% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 8 00 N, 1 10 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Heliports - 1 (2007)
Highways total: 7,520 km


paved: 2,376 km


unpaved: 5,144 km (1996)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 3.4%


highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
Illicit drugs transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem 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 $420 million f.o.b. (2001) 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Ghana 26%, France 11%, China 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7% (2000) Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)
Independence 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 5% (2007 est.)
Industries phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate 69.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.3% (2001 est.) 8.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 3 (2001) -
Irrigated land 70 sq km (1998 est.) 1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme 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 1.74 million (1996) (1996) 4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,647 km


border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km
total: 3,098 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use arable land: 41.37%


permanent crops: 1.84%


other: 56.79% (1998 est.)
arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
Languages French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system French-based court system based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2006)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 72, RSD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1


note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal
bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic based on massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons


election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 54.02 years


male: 52.03 years


female: 56.07 years (2002 est.)
total population: 70.05 years


male: 64.31 years


female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 51.7%


male: 67%


female: 37% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.4% (1999 census)
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Africa Europe
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 30 NM
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,603 GRT/2,800 DWT


ships by type: specialized tanker 1


note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1 (2002 est.)
-
Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $21.9 million (FY01) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.8% (FY01) 1.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,220,758 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 640,280 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 27 April (1960) 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: Togolese (singular and plural)


adjective: Togolese
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts NA
Natural resources phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land 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.) 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines - gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph KOFFIGOH]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold GNININVI]; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR [Zarifou AYEVA]; Patriotic Pan-African Convergence or CPP [Edem KODJO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile), Jean Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or ULI [Jacques AMOUZOU]


note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991
pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]


opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party (unregistered) [Pavel SEVERINETS]; Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada (People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Aleksandr KOZULIN; Anatoliy LEVKOVICH, acting]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


other opposition includes: Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergey YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom (unregistered) [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; 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) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH, Sergey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population 5,285,501


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.)
9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 32% (1989 est.) 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.48% (2002 est.) -0.41% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Kpeme, Lome -
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios 940,000 (1997) -
Railways total: 525 km


narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2001)
total: 5,512 km


broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)
Religions indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% 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: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female


total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female


total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage NA years of age; universal adult 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system


domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones


international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie
general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital


domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies


international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); 3 fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use 25,000 (1997) 3.368 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 2,995 (1997) 5.96 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 5.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways 50 km (Mono river) 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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