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Compare Zimbabwe (2003) - Belarus (2002)

Compare Zimbabwe (2003) z Belarus (2002)

 Zimbabwe (2003)Belarus (2002)
 ZimbabweBelarus
Administrative divisions 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands 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: 39.7% (male 2,517,608; female 2,471,342)


15-64 years: 56.8% (male 3,600,832; female 3,542,497)


65 years and over: 3.5% (male 224,631; female 219,832) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)


15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628)


65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 430 (2002) 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 17


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2002)
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 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 413


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 197


under 914 m: 212 (2002)
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 (2002)
Area total: 390,580 sq km


land: 386,670 sq km


water: 3,910 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Montana slightly smaller than Kansas
Background The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. 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.
Birth rate 30.34 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $2.5 billion


expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)
revenues: $4 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Capital Harare Minsk
Climate tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 21 December 1979 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 Zimbabwe


conventional short form: Zimbabwe


former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
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 Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 22.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $3.9 billion (2002 est.) $770 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN


embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare


mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare


telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594


FAX: [263] (4) 796488
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. 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 Simbi Veke MUBAKO


chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100


FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326
chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. 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 dormant dispute remains where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundaries converge boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding
Economic aid - recipient $178 million (2000 est.) $194.3 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 59% in 1999, to 60% in 2000, to over 100% by yearend 2001, to 228% in early 2003. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has nearly destroyed the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs. 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 high inflation and persistent trade deficits, 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. 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 9.813 billion kWh (2001) 26.78 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 300 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 3.55 billion kWh (2001) 4.15 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 6.735 billion kWh (2001) 24.66 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 47%


hydro: 53%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m


highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 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 African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 55 (2002), 55.05 (2001), 44.42 (2000), 38.3 (1999), 23.68 (1998) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles
Executive branch chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly


elections: presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least one from each province) and elected by popular vote; election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2008); co-vice presidents appointed by the president


election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 56.2%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 41.9%
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001)


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 (next election to be held by 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 NA (2001) $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals
Exports - partners China 6%, South Africa 5.7%, Germany 5.4%, UK 4.8%, Japan 4.7%, Netherlands 4.4%, US 4.1% (2002) Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000)
Fiscal year 1 January - 31 December calendar year
Flag description seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green symbolizes agriculture, yellow - mineral wealth, red - blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red
GDP purchasing power parity - $26.07 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 24%


services: 58% (2001)
agriculture: 13%


industry: 42%


services: 45% (2000)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -13% (2002 est.) 4.1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 20 00 S, 30 00 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water 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
Highways total: 18,338 km


paved: 8,692 km


unpaved: 9,646 km (1999 est.)
total: 98,200 km


paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.97%


highest 10%: 40.42% (1995)
lowest 10%: 5%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets 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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations
Imports NA (2001) $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners South Africa 47.7%, Congo, Democratic Republic of the 5.7%, Mozambique 5.3% (2002) Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000)
Independence 18 April 1980 (from UK) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate -3.1% (2002 est.) 5.4% (2001 est.)
Industries mining (coal, gold, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 66.47 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 69.17 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 63.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 134.5% (2002 est.) 46.1% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, 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) 6 (2000) 23 (2002)
Irrigated land 1,170 sq km (1998 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; High 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 5.8 million (2000 est.) 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996) industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total: 3,066 km


border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 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: 8.4%


permanent crops: 0.34%


other: 91.26% (1998 est.)
arable land: 29.76%


permanent crops: 0.69%


other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
Languages English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president)


elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)


election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 48.6%, MDC 47.0%, other 4.4%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 62, MDC 57, ZANU-Ndonga 1
bicameral Parliament 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 Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless
Life expectancy at birth total population: 39.01 years


male: 40.09 years


female: 37.89 years (2003 est.)
total population: 68.28 years


male: 62.3 years


female: 74.56 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write English


total population: 90.7%


male: 94.2%


female: 87.2% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 99%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Africa Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police) Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military expenditures - dollar figure $625.1 million (FY02) $156 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.2% (FY02) 1% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 3,236,042 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,003,572 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 86,396 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 18 April (1980) 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: Zimbabwean(s)


adjective: Zimbabwean
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare NA
Natural resources coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2003 est.)
2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines refined products 261 km (2003) crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; National Alliance for Good Governance or NAGG [Shakespeare MAYA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Agrippa MADLELA] Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; 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 Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; 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 or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]
Political pressure groups and leaders National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Brian KAGORO]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Lovemore MATOMBO] NA
Population 12,576,742


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
10,335,382 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 70% (2002 est.) 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 0.83% (2003 est.) -0.14% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Binga, Kariba Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios - 3.02 million (1997)
Railways total: 3,077 km


narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified)


note: includes the 318 km Bulawayo-Beitbridge Railway Company line (2002)
total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.)
Religions syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female


total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines


domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones


international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)
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 212,000 (in addition, there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997) 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 111,000 (2001) 8,167 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 16 (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 3.66 children born/woman (2003 est.) 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 70% (2002 est.) 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Waterways chrome ore is transported from Harare - by way of the Mazoe River - to the Zambezi River in Mozambique NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
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