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Compare Uzbekistan (2001) - Belarus (2005)

Compare Uzbekistan (2001) z Belarus (2005)

 Uzbekistan (2001)Belarus (2005)
 UzbekistanBelarus
Administrative divisions 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahri); Andijon Wiloyati, Bukhoro Wiloyati, Farghona Wiloyati, Jizzakh Wiloyati, Khorazm Wiloyati (Urganch), Namangan Wiloyati, Nawoiy Wiloyati, Qashqadaryo Wiloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpoghiston* (Nukus), Samarqand Wiloyati, Sirdaryo Wiloyati (Guliston), Surkhondaryo Wiloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Wiloyati

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:
36.32% (male 4,646,341; female 4,489,265)

15-64 years:
59.06% (male 7,351,908; female 7,504,626)

65 years and over:
4.62% (male 466,029; female 696,895) (2001 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 cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 267 (2000 est.) 133 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
10

over 3,047 m:
3

2,438 to 3,047 m:
5

under 914 m:
2 (2000 est.)
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:
257

over 3,047 m:
3

2,438 to 3,047 m:
8

1,524 to 2,437 m:
11

914 to 1,523 m:
13

under 914 m:
222
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:
447,400 sq km

land:
425,400 sq km

water:
22,000 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than California slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1925. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include insurgency by Islamic militants based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, a non-convertible currency, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. 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 26.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
Capital Tashkent (Toshkent) Minsk
Climate mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 0 km; note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 15 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of Uzbekistan

conventional short form:
Uzbekistan

local long form:
Uzbekiston Respublikasi

local short form:
none

former:
Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
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 Uzbekistani sum (UZS) -
Death rate 8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $3.3 billion (1999 est.) $600 million (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador John Edward HERBST

embassy:
82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent 700115

mailing address:
use embassy street address; US Embassy Tashkent, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7110

telephone:
[998] (71) 120-5444

FAX:
[998] (71) 120-6335
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 Shavkat HAMRAKULOV

chancery:
1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:
[1] (202) 887-5300

FAX:
[1] (202) 293-6804

consulate(s) general:
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 occasional target of Islamic insurgents based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan 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 $276.6 million (1995) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 10% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's third largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. Faced with high rates of inflation, however, the government began to reform in mid-1994, by introducing tighter monetary policies, expanding privatization, slightly reducing the role of the state in the economy, and improving the environment for foreign investors. The state continues to be a dominating influence in the economy and has so far failed to bring about much-needed structural changes. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million standby arrangement in late 1996 because of governmental steps that made impossible fulfillment of Fund conditions. Uzbekistan has responded to the negative external conditions generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by tightening export and currency controls within its already largely closed economy. Economic policies that have repelled foreign investment are a major factor in the economy's stagnation. A growing debt burden, persistent inflation, and a poor business climate led to stagnant growth in 2000, with little improvement predicted for 2001. 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 43.455 billion kWh (1999) 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 3.92 billion kWh (1999) 800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 7.5 billion kWh (1999) 3.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 42.876 billion kWh (1999) 30 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
86.4%

hydro:
13.6%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m

highest point:
Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

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 Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 325.0 (January 2001), 141.4 (January 2000), 111.9 (February 1999), 110.95 (December 1998), 75.8 (September 1997), 41.1 (1996) 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 Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet)

head of government:
Prime Minister Otkir SULTONOV (since 21 December 1995)

cabinet:
Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA January 2005); note - extension of President KARIMOV's original term for an additional five years overwhelmingly approved - 99.6% of total vote in favor - by national referendum held 27 March 1995; prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president

election results:
Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz DZHALALOV 4.2%
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 $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Russia 13%, Switzerland 10%, UK 10%, Belgium 3%, Kazakhstan 4%, Tajikistan 4% (1999) Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant 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 - $60 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
28%

industry:
21%

services:
51% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.1% (2000 est.) 6.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 41 00 N, 64 00 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world 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 (2004 est.)
Highways total:
81,600 km

paved:
71,237 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:
10,363 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996)
total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
3.1%

highest 10%:
25.2% (1993)
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and very small amounts of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption, almost entirely eradicated by an effective government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Western Europe and for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan 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 $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; foodstuffs mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Russia 14%, South Korea 14%, Germany 11%, US 8%, Turkey 4%, Kazakhstan 4% (1999) Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)
Independence 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 6.4% (2000 est.) 4% (2004 est.)
Industries textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate 71.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) 40% (2000 est.) 17.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) 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) 42 (2000) -
Irrigated land 40,000 sq km (1993 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) 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 11.9 million (1998 est.) 4.305 million (31 December 2003)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total:
6,221 km

border countries:
Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 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:
9%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
46%

forests and woodland:
3%

other:
41% (1993 est.)
arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 5 December and 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2004)

election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 48, Self-Sacrificers Party 34, Fatherland Progress Party 20, Adolat Social Democratic Party 11, MTP 10, citizens' groups 16, local government 110, vacant 1

note:
not all seats in the last Supreme Assembly election were contested; all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV
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:
63.81 years

male:
60.24 years

female:
67.56 years (2001 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:
99%

male:
99%

female:
99% (yearend 1996)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Central Asia, north of Afghanistan Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Commonwealth of Independent States Europe
Maritime claims none (doubly landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $200 million (FY97) $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2% (FY97) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
6,550,587 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
5,318,418 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
274,602 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Independence Day, 1 September (1991) 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:
Uzbekistani(s)

adjective:
Uzbekistani
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards NA NA
Natural resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate -2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km (1992) gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Anwar JURABAYEV, first secretary]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Aziz KAYUMOV, chairman]; Fatherland Progress Party [Anwar Z. YOLDASHEV]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Abdulkhafiz JALOLOV, first secretary]; Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, first secretary] 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 Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim PULAT, chairman]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Abdumanob PULAT, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman] NA
Population 25,155,064 (July 2001 est.) 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.6% (2001 est.) -0.09% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Termiz (Amu Darya river) Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios 10.8 million (1997) -
Railways total:
3,380 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines

broad gauge:
3,380 km 1.520-m gauge (300 km electrified) (1993)
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 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% 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:
1.03 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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:
antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization

domestic:
the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent and Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized countries; moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication), one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS type (Advanced Mobile Phone System)

international:
linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998)
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 1.98 million (1999) 3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 26,000 (1998) 1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tadzhik programs) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Sirdaryo (Syr Darya), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 3.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)
Waterways 1,100 km (1990) 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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