##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Ukraine (2004) - Belarus (2006)
Compare Ukraine (2004) z Belarus (2006)
| Ukraine (2004) | Belarus (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Dnipropetrovs'k, Donets'k, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmel'nyts'kyy, Kirovohrad, Kiev (Kyyiv)**, Kyyiv, Luhans'k, L'viv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol'**, Sumy, Ternopil', Vinnytsya, Volyn' (Luts'k), Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
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: 15.9% (male 3,883,485; female 3,715,668)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,692,388; female 17,096,611) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 2,472,023; female 4,871,904) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)
15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 702 (2003 est.) | 86 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 174
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 57 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 70 (2003 est.) |
total: 41
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: 12 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 528
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 469 (2003 est.) |
total: 45
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 35 (2006) |
| Area | total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-1920), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorites to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity. | 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, 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 | 10.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $14.1 billion
expenditures: $14.19 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $5.903 billion
expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Kiev (Kyyiv) | 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 | temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 2,782 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | adopted 28 June 1996 | 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: none
conventional short form: Ukraine local long form: none local short form: Ukrayina former: Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 | hryvnia (UAH) | - |
| Death rate | 16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $16.13 billion (2003) | $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John E. HERBST
embassy: 10 Yuriia Kotsiubynskoho Street, 04053 Kiev mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850 telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
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 Mykhailo B. REZNIK
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 349-2920 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago 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 | 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified due to unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete but boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Ukraine protests Russia's construction of a causeway in the direction of Ukrainian-administered Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait; difficulties with Moldova's Transnistria region complicate controlling border crossing and customs regimes despite concordance on the 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance; has not resolved Romanian claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years; ongoing dispute between Ukraine and Romania over the Danube River delta | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly |
| Economic aid - recipient | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas, to meet some 85% of its annual energy requirements. Shortly after independence in December 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. President KUCHMA had pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Reforms in the more politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatization are still lagging. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. GDP in 2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6% - the first growth since independence - and industrial production grew 12.9%. The economy continued to expand in 2001 as real GDP rose 9% and industrial output grew by over 14%. Growth of 4.6% in 2002 was more moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed world. In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence. Growth was a sturdy 9.3% in 2003 and a remarkable 12% in 2004, despite a loss of momentum in needed economic reforms. | Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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. During 2005, the government 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, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. |
| Electricity - consumption | 152.4 billion kWh (2001) | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 800 million kWh (2001) | 800 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 7 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 164.7 billion kWh (2001) | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant | 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-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
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 | Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001) | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (since 4 February 2005); First Deputy Prime Minister - Anatoliy KINAKH (since 4 February 2005) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under former-President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; note - a special repeat runoff presidential election between Viktor YUSHCHENKO and Viktor YANUKOVYCH took place on 26 December 2004 after the earlier 21 November 2004 contest - won by Mr. YANUKOVYCH - was invalidated by the Ukrainian Supreme Court because of widespread and significant violations; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council election results: Viktor YUSHCHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YUSHCHENKO 51.99%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei 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 allowing president to run in a third election 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 | NA (2001) | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Russia 17.8%, Germany 5.9%, Italy 5.3%, China 4.1% (2003) | Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky | 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 - $260.4 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.8%
industry: 44.8% services: 36.4% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6% services: 59.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 9.4% (2003 est.) | 9.2% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 49 00 N, 32 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Heliports | 8 (2003 est.) | 1 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 169,491 km
paved: 163,898 km unpaved: 5,593 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.2% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to the West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey to Europe and Russia; Ukraine has improved anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in February 2004; Ukraine's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF | 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 (2001) | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | Russia 35.9%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.2% (2003) | Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005) |
| Independence | 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.8% (2003 est.) | 15.6% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 20.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.2% (2003 est.) | 10.3% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,310 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | 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 | 21.29 million (2003) | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996) | agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,663 km
border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 526 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 97 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: 56.21%
permanent crops: 1.61% other: 42.18% (2001) |
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
| Languages | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under recent amendments to Ukraine's election law, the Rada's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 24%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, other 24%; seats by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 101, Regions of Ukraine 61, CPU 59, Working Ukraine 14, United Social Democratic Party 33, Agrarian Party 22, SPU 20, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 19, United Ukraine 19, People's Democratic Party-Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 16, Center Group 15, Democratic Initiatives 14, unaffiliated 57 (December 2004) note: following the election, United Ukraine splintered into the Agrarian Party, European Choice, People's Choice, People's Democratic Party, Regions of Ukraine, and Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; these factions have since undergone a number of changes |
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 four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage 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: 66.68 years
male: 61.35 years female: 72.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 63.47 years female: 74.98 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Asia, Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 675,904 GRT/709,802 DWT
by type: bulk 7, cargo 92, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 10, rail car carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Belize 2, Canada 1, Cyprus 1, Hungary 2, Italy 1, Russia 4, Turkey 3 registered in other countries: 87 (2004 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) Troops, Border Troops | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $617.9 million (FY02) | $420.5 million (2006) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,196,319 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 9,565,088 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 386,945 (2004 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 24 August (1991); the date of 22 January (1918), the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia), is now celebrated as Unity Day | 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: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | NA | NA |
| Natural resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| People - note | the sex trafficking of Ukrainian women is a serious problem that has only recently been addressed | - |
| Pipelines | gas 20,069 km; oil 4,540 km; refined products 4,169 km (2004) | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH]; Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Our Ukraine bloc (comprised of several parties the most prominent of which are Rukh, the Ukrainian People's Party, Reforms and Order, and Solidarity) [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO]; Regions of Ukraine [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; Working Ukraine [Serhiy TYHYPKO]; Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]
note: as well as numerous smaller parties; United Ukraine and Center Group are not actual political parties, but rather deputy groups (factions not based on a party) |
pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]
opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; 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) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS] |
| Population | 47,732,079 (July 2004 est.) | 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 29% (2003 est.) | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.66% (2004 est.) | -0.06% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 22,473 km
broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2003) |
total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005) |
| Religions | Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38% (2004 est.) | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2004 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 (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan, running through 2005, emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system
domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is now rising slowly and the domestic trunk system is being improved; the mobile cellular telephone system is expanding at a high rate international: country code - 380; two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems |
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; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly
domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four 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); 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 | 10,833,300 (2002) | 3,284,300 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.2 million (2002) | 4.098 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2003) | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) |
| Waterways | 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2004) | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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