Tokelau (2002) | Belarus (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of New Zealand) | 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (1996 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210) 15-64 years: 68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290) 65 years and over: 13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2001) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
33 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
103 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. | 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 but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $430,830
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | none; each atoll has its own administrative center | Minsk |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 101 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
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 | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution, developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KOZAK embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy TSEPAKLO 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | from New Zealand about $4 million annually | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. | 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 enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand | 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-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,180 (yearend 2000), 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (second quarter 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Pio TUIA (since NA 2002) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
chief of state:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir YERMOSHIN (since 18 February 2000); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Mikhail DEMCHUK (since 14 July 2000), Mikhail KHORSTOV (since 27 November 2000), Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) 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 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% |
Exports | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | stamps, copra, handicrafts | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | NZ | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of New Zealand is used | 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 the Belarusian national ornament in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 S, 172 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level | landlocked |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
63,355 km paved: 60,567 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 2,788 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
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 |
Imports | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | NZ | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
Independence | none (territory of New Zealand) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 200% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | SPC, UNESCO (associate), WHO (associate) | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau | 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 | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
Legal system | New Zealand and local statutes | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Fono (48 seats; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono | bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: 68 years (2001) female: 70 years (2001) |
total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Oceania | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | 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: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | lies in Pacific typhoon belt | NA |
Natural resources | NEGL | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,431 (July 2002 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.92% (2002 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
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's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: 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 | NA | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2001) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | none | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |