From Wikitravel

[edit] Geography

Location 

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates 

53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references 

Europe

Area 

total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries 

total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Coastline 

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims 

none (landlocked)

Climate 

cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain 

generally flat and contains much marshland

Elevation extremes 

lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

Natural resources 

forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay

Land use 

arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69%
other: 69.55% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

1,150 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards 

NA

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

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

[edit] People

Population 

10,335,382 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure 

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.)

Population growth rate 

-0.14% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 68.28 years
female: 74.56 years (2002 est.)
male: 62.3 years

Total fertility rate 

1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

0.28% (1999 est.)

Nationality 

noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups 

Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%

Religions 

Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

Languages 

Belarusian, Russian, other

Literacy 

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 97% (1989 est.)

[edit] Government

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'

Government type 

republic

Capital 

Minsk

Administrative divisions 

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 

25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

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

Constitution 

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 

based on civil law system

Suffrage 

18 years of age; universal

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

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

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.

Population below poverty line 

22% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate 

2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers

Industries 

metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators

Electricity - production 

24.66 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 

26.78 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products 

grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Exports - commodities 

machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals

Imports - commodities 

mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals

Currency 

Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

Currency code 

BYB/BYR

Exchange rates 

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

Fiscal year 

calendar year

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

2.313 million (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

8,167 (1997)

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'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 

AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios 

3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations 

47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions 

2.52 million (1997)

Internet country code 

.by

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

23 (2002)

Internet users 

422,000 (2002)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.)

Highways 

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 

NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems

Pipelines 

crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)

Ports and harbors 

Mazyr

Airports 

136 (2001)

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 (2002)

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 (2002)

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding

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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations