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  Introduction
  Geography
  People
  Government
  Economy
  Communications
  Transportation
  Military
  Transnational Issues

In general, information available as of 1 January 2003
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2003.


This page was last updated on 1 August, 2003


Map of Belarus

Legend: Definition Definition Field Listing Field Listing Rank Order Rank Order
   Introduction    Belarus
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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.
   Geography    Belarus
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Europe
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
generally flat and contains much marshland
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69%
other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
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
   People    Belarus
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10,322,151 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 885,265; female 848,516)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 3,456,769; female 3,652,766)
65 years and over: 14.3% (male 490,529; female 988,306) (2003 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 36.7 years
male: 34.1 years
female: 39.3 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
-0.12% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
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 (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years
female: 74.6 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.3% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Belarusian, Russian, other
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
   Government    Belarus
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Minsk
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
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
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
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
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on civil law system
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10 July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
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
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
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)
election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
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)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NAM (observer), NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: presently no ambassador to US; Charge d'Affaires Valentin RYBAKOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
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
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
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 a Belarusian national ornament in red
   Economy    Belarus
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
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. A wide range of redistributive policies help those at the bottom of the ladder. 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.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $85 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40%
services: 45% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
22% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
21.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
42.8% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.5% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
Definition Field Listing
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
37,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
230,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$7.7 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Russia 53.7%, Latvia 6.5%, Ukraine 5.6%, Lithuania 3.7%, Poland, Germany (2001)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$8.8 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Russia 65%, Germany 7.3%, Ukraine 3.4%, Poland 2.5% (2001)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$851 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$194.3 million (1995)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
BYB/BYR
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.1272 (1998)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Belarus
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8,167 (1997)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
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
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.by
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
Definition Field Listing
23 (2002)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
422,000 (2002)
   Transportation    Belarus
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing
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)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Mazyr
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
124 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 21
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 67 (2002)
   Military    Belarus
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 86,654 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.4% (FY02)
   Transnational Issues    Belarus
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal border crossing; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
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

This page was last updated on 1 August, 2003


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