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Compare Turkey (2002) - Belarus (2005)

Compare Turkey (2002) z Belarus (2005)

 Turkey (2002)Belarus (2005)
 TurkeyBelarus
Administrative divisions 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak 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: 27.8% (male 9,520,030; female 9,178,423)


15-64 years: 65.9% (male 22,552,253; female 21,827,002)


65 years and over: 6.3% (male 1,946,523; female 2,284,697) (2002 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 tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 120 (2001) 133 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 86


over 3,047 m: 16


2,438 to 3,047 m: 30


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 16


under 914 m: 5 (2002)
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: 34 34


over 3,047 m: 1 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 8


under 914 m: 8 24 (2002)
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: 780,580 sq km


land: 770,760 sq km


water: 9,820 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Texas slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries remain strained but have begun to improve over the past three years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. 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 17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $42.4 billion


expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
Capital Ankara Minsk
Climate temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 7,200 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 7 November 1982 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: Republic of Turkey


conventional short form: Turkey


local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti


local short form: Turkiye
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 Turkish lira (TRL) -
Death rate 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $118.3 billion (September 2001 ) $600 million (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Robert W. PEARSON


embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara


mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823


telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555


FAX: [90] (312) 468-0019


consulate(s) general: Istanbul


consulate(s): Adana
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 Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU


chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700


FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, 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 complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; dispute with downstream riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute 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 - recipient ODA, $300 million (1993) (2000) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest export - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high double digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Ankara to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East cast a shadow over growth prospects for 2003. 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 114.19 billion kWh (2000) 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 437 million kWh (2000) 800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 3.791 billion kWh (2000) 3.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 119.18 billion kWh (2000) 30 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 74%


hydro: 26%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic 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, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification
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 Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates Turkish liras per US dollar - 1,223,140 (January 2002), 1,223,140 (2001), 625,219 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997) 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: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)


head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003); note - Abdullah GUL resigned 11 March 2003; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN was given a mandate to form a government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister


note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet


elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60%


note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot
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 $37.6 billion f.o.b. (2002) 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Germany 17.2%, US 10.0%, Italy 7.5%, UK 6.9%, France 6.0%, Russia 2.9% (2001) Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening 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 - $468 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 13%


industry: 30%


services: 57% (2001)
agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.2% (2002 est.) 6.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 39 00 N, 35 00 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country 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 8 (2002) 1 (2004 est.)
Highways total: 382,059 km


paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of expressways)


unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.)
total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 32% (1994)
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate 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 $43.9 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.) 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Germany 12.9%, Italy 8.4%, Russia 8.3%, US 7.9%, France 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2001 est.) Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)
Independence 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 8.5% (2002 est.) 4% (2004 est.)
Industries textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate 45.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) 45.2% (2002) 17.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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) 50 (2001) -
Irrigated land 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) 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 23.8 million (2001 3rd quarter)


note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999)
4.305 million (31 December 2003)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 40%, services 38%, industry 22% (2001) agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total: 2,648 km


border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 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: 34.53%


permanent crops: 3.36%


other: 62.11% (1998 est.)
arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - all other parties were under the 10% threshhold which entitles them to seats
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: 71.52 years


male: 69.15 years


female: 74.01 years (2002 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: 85%


male: 94%


female: 77% (2000)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Middle East Europe
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR


territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 553 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,674,099 GRT/9,108,819 DWT


ships by type: bulk 138, cargo 239, chemical tanker 45, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 2, container 27, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 45, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 27, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 11 (2002 est.)
-
Military branches Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $8.1 billion (2002 est.) $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 4.5% (2002 est.) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 19,219,177 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 11,623,675 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 20 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 674,805 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 29 October (1923) 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: Turk(s)


adjective: Turkish
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van NA
Natural resources antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Saadet Party [Recai KUTAN]; note - KUTAN was head of the Virtue Party or FP which was banned by Turkey's Constitutional Court in June 2001; Socialist Democratic Party or TDP [Sema PISKINSUT]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Right Path Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER] 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 Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS] NA
Population 67,308,928 (July 2002 est.) 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.2% (2002 est.) -0.09% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios 11.3 million (1997) -
Railways total: 8,607 km


standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2001)
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 Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female


total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


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


65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female


total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially with cellular telephones


domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly


international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002)
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 19.5 million (1999) 3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 17.1 million (2001) 1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 2.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.) 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)
Waterways 1,200 km (approximately) 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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