Administrative divisions6 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: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports
135 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 21
under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 85
under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 11
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
Area
total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Kansas
Background
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
10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.)
Capital
Minsk
Climate
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline
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 short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
Currency
Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code
BYB/BYR
Current account balance
$-945 million (2003)
Death rate
14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external
$851 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US
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
FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
Disputes - international
1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support
Distribution of family income - Gini index
21.7 (1998)
Economic aid - recipient
$194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview
Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
Electricity - consumption
26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports
300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports
4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production
24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues
soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, 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
Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates
Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999)
Executive branch
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); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 2003), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002)
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
Exports
$9.413 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners
Russia 57.2%, Germany 4.7%, France 3.9% (2003 est.)
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 a Belarusian national ornament in red
GDP
purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4%
services: 52.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
6.8% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates
53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note
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
Government type
republic
Heliports
1 (2003 est.)
Highways
total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km
unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.3% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
1,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
15,000 (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage shar
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs
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
$11.09 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners
Russia 68.8%, Germany 8.6%, Poland 2.9% (2003 est.)
Independence
25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate
5% (2003 est.)
Industries
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate
total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
28.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation
CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet country code
.by
Internet hosts
5,308 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
23 (2002)
Internet users
1,391,900 (2003)
Investment (gross fixed)
21.7% of GDP (2003)
Irrigated land
1,150 sq km (1998 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
4.8 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
NA
Land boundaries
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: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6%
other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages
Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system
based on civil law system
Legislative branch
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: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KPB 6, AP 5, RPPS 2, LDPB 1, PPA 1, non-party 81, other 14
elections: last held 15 and 29 October 2000 and 18 March and 1 April 2001 (next to be held Fall 2004)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years
female: 74.65 years (2004 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references
Europe
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Median age
total: 36.9 years
male: 34.2 years
female: 39.5 years (2004 est.)
Military branches
Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure
$176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability
males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service
males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age
18 years of age (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually
males: 86,716 (2004 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 gas - consumption
18 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports
17.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - production
200 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural hazards
NA
Natural resources
forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate
2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption
230,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports
NA (2001)
Oil - imports
NA (2001)
Oil - production
37,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Pipelines
gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders
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 LEBEDKO]; 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
NA
Population
10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line
22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.11% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors
Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations
AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios
3.02 million (1997)
Railways
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003)
Religions
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold
$637 million (2003)
Sex ratio
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 (2004 est.)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Telephone system
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
3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular
1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations
47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions
2.52 million (1997)
Terrain
generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate
1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate
2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.)
Waterways
Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems