Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / World (2004) - Belarus (2001) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare World (2004) - Belarus (2001)

Compare World (2004) z Belarus (2001)

 World (2004)Belarus (2001)
 WorldBelarus
Administrative divisions 271 nations, dependent areas, and other entities 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name

note:
voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses
Age structure 0-14 years: 28.2% (male 925,276,767; female 875,567,830)


15-64 years: 64.5% (male 2,083,789,165; female 2,033,226,759)


65 years and over: 7.2% (male 203,286,504; female 257,705,851)


note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure (2004 est.)
0-14 years:
17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210)

15-64 years:
68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290)

65 years and over:
13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products - grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports - 136 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways - total:
33

over 3,047 m:
2

2,438 to 3,047 m:
19

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

under 914 m:
11 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total:
103

over 3,047 m:
3

2,438 to 3,047 m:
10

1,524 to 2,437 m:
11

914 to 1,523 m:
14

under 914 m:
65 (2000 est.)
Area total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
total:
207,600 sq km

land:
207,600 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative land area about 16 times the size of the US slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord.
Birth rate 20.24 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget - revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Capital - Minsk
Climate two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 356,000 km


note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Isle of Man, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan
0 km (landlocked)
Constitution - 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996
Country name - conventional long form:
Republic of Belarus

conventional short form:
Belarus

local long form:
Respublika Byelarus'

local short form:
none

former:
Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency - Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 8.86 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.) $1 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US - chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KOZAK

embassy:
46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002

mailing address:
use embassy street address

telephone:
[375] (17) 210-12-83

FAX:
[375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US - chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy TSEPAKLO

chancery:
1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 986-1604

FAX:
[1] (202) 986-1805

consulate(s) general:
New York
Disputes - international stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 325 international land boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 72 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord directly affects the sustenance and welfare of local populations, often leaving the world community to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, deforestation, and desertification none
Economic aid - recipient official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Global output rose by 3.7% in 2003, led by China (9.1%), India (7.6%), and Russia (7.3%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 5%-7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from a loss by Germany (-0.1%) to a strong gain by the United States (3.1%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decision-making powers to international bodies. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continue into 2004. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
Electricity - consumption 13.94 trillion kWh (2001 est.) 27.647 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports - 2.62 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports - 7.1 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 14.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.) 24.911 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel:
99.9%

hydro:
0.1%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m

highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements - party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups - Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates - Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,180 (yearend 2000), 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (second quarter 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles
Executive branch - chief of state:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)

head of government:
Prime Minister Vladimir YERMOSHIN (since 18 February 2000); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Mikhail DEMCHUK (since 14 July 2000), Mikhail KHORSTOV (since 27 November 2000), Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998)

cabinet:
Council of Ministers

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:
Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%
Exports 712 billion cu m (2001 est.) $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners US 16.4%, Germany 7.9%, UK 5.2%, France 5.1%, China 5%, Japan 4.6% (2003) Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998)
Fiscal year - calendar year
Flag description - red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red
GDP GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $51.48 trillion (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2004 est.)
agriculture:
13%

industry:
46%

services:
41% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3.8% (2003 est.) 4% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates - 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe landlocked
Highways total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
total:
63,355 km

paved:
60,567 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather)

unpaved:
2,788 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%:
4.9%

highest 10%:
19.4% (1993)
Illicit drugs cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 173,450 hectares-almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia; potential cocaine production during 2003 is estimated at 728 metric tons (or 835 metric tons of export quality cocaine); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru; 376 metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons


opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 137,944 hectares in 2003-mostly in Southwest and Southeast Asia-with 44% in Afghanistan, potentially produced 3,775 metric tons of opium - which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 429 metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam
limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe
Imports 697.5 billion cu m (2001 est.) $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners US 9.9%, Germany 9.4%, China 7.9%, Japan 6.7%, France 4.7% (2003) Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998)
Independence - 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 3% (2002 est.) 5% (2000 est.)
Industries dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 50.31 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 52.17 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 48.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries (2003 est.) 200% (2000 est.)
International organization participation - CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 4 (2000)
Irrigated land 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)
Labor force NA 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries


note: 43 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
total:
3,098 km

border countries:
Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use arable land: 10.73%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.27% (2001)
arable land:
29%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
21% (1993 est.)
Languages Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Byelorussian, Russian, other
Legal system all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court based on civil law system
Legislative branch - bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)

elections:
last held October 2000 (next to be held NA)

election results:
party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless
Life expectancy at birth total population: 64.05 years


male: 62.48 years


female: 65.7 years (2004 est.)
total population:
68.14 years

male:
62.06 years

female:
74.52 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
98%

male:
99%

female:
97% (1989 est.)
Location - Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World Commonwealth of Independent States
Maritime claims a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm none (landlocked)
Military branches - Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military expenditures - dollar figure aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) $156 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) 1.2% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males:
86,396 (2001 est.)
National holiday - 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:
Belarusian(s)

adjective:
Belarusian
Natural hazards large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) NA
Natural resources the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas
Net migration rate - 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders - Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]
Political pressure groups and leaders - NA
Population 6,379,157,361 (July 2004 est.) 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line - 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 1.14% (2004 est.) -0.15% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios - 3.02 million (1997)
Railways total: 1,115,205 km


broad gauge: 257,481 km


standard gauge: 671,413 km


narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)
total:
5,523 km

broad gauge:
5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)
Religions Christians 32.71% (of which Roman Catholics 17.28%, Protestants 5.61%, Orthodox 3.49%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.67%, Hindus 13.28%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 13.05%, non-religious 12.43%, atheists 2.41% (2002 est.) Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


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


65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
general assessment:
the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly

domestic:
local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational

international:
Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Telephones - main lines in use 843,923,500 (2003) 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 8,167 (1997)
Television broadcast stations NA 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 2.62 children born/woman (2004 est.) 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Waterways - NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.