Togo (2007) | Belarus (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); Centrale, Kara, Maritime, Plateaux, Savanes | 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: 42% (male 1,201,840/female 1,193,416)
15-64 years: 55.3% (male 1,535,855/female 1,617,631) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 61,658/female 91,179) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 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 (2007) | 135 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.) |
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. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, continued to rule into the 21st century. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continued to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen, the EU initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004 based upon commitments by Togo to expand opportunities for political opposition and liberalize portions of the economy. Upon his death in February 2005, President EYADEMA was succeeded by his son Faure GNASSINGBE. The succession, supported by the military and in contravention of the nation's constitution, was challenged by popular protest and a threat of sanctions from regional leaders. GNASSINGBE succumbed to pressure and in April 2005 held elections that legitimized his succession. Legislative elections are scheduled for June 2007. | 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. |
Birth rate | 36.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $392.3 million
expenditures: $452.3 million (2006 est.) |
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Lome
geographic coordinates: 6 08 N, 1 13 E time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Minsk |
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 | 30 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: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 9.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $2 billion (2005) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David B. DUNN
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 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)
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 | in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary; in 2006 14,000 Togolese refugees remain in Benin and Ghana out of the 40,000 who fled there in 2005 | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $86.71 million (2005 est.) | $194.3 million (1995) |
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 important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate. 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 moved slowly. Progress depends on follow through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. Togo is working with donors to write a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) that could eventually lead to a debt reduction plan. | Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
Electricity - consumption | 576 million kWh (2005) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 486 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2005) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 176 million kWh (2005) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
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 | 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, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Faure GNASSINGBE (since 6 February 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE; popular elections in April 2005 validated the succession
head of government: Prime Minister Yawovi AGBOYIBO (since 16 September 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 April 2005 (next to be held by 2010); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Faure GNASSINGBE elected president; percent of vote - Faure GNASSINGBE 60.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 38.3%, Nicolas LAWSON 1%, Harry OLYMPIO 0.5% |
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); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002) 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 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Ghana 16.7%, Burkina Faso 14.4%, Benin 9.1%, Belgium 6.1%, Mali 5.8%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.6%, Netherlands 4.6% (2006) | Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) |
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 ornamention in red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 40%
industry: 25% services: 35% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2006 est.) | 6.8% (2003 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; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
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 | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | China 29.8%, UK 10.9%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 6%, Belgium 5.8%, US 4.6%, Estonia 4.2% (2006) | Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | total: 59.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2006 est.) | 28.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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, WTrO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (2003) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
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 | 1.302 million (1998) | 4.8 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 65%
industry: 5% services: 30% (1998 est.) |
NA |
Land boundaries | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 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: 44.2%
permanent crops: 2.11% other: 53.69% (2005) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 14 October 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - RPT 39.4%, UFC 37.0%, CAR 8.2%, independents 2.5%, other 12.9%; seats by party - RPT 50, UFC 27, CAR 4 |
bicameral Parliament 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 Predstaviteliy (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 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); 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 Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.86 years
male: 55.81 years female: 59.96 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 30 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
by type: cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2007) |
- |
Military branches | Togolese Armed Forces (FAT): Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie (2005) | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (2005 est.) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 86,716 (2004 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 (2007 est.) | 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA; Democratic Party for Renewal or PDR; Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP; Pan-African Patriotic Convergence or CPP; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Harry OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [Faure GNASSINGBE]; Socialist Pact for Renewal or PSR; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]; Union of Forces for a Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO] | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; 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 | 5,701,579
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 2007 est.) |
10,310,520 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.718% (2007 est.) | -0.11% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Railways | total: 568 km
narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51% | 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: 1.007 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.949 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.676 male(s)/female total population: 0.965 male(s)/female (2007 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 (2004 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 international: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Symphonie |
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 | 82,100 (2006) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 708,000 (2006) | 1.118 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 2 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 | 4.9 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2005) | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |