Introduction

 

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. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.

 

Geography

 

Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland

 

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E

 

Map references: Europe

 

Area: total: 207,600 sq km;land: 207,600 sq km;water: 0 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: 29.55%;permanent crops: 0.6%;other: 69.85% (2001)

 

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

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

 

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

 

People

 

Population: 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)

 

Age structure: 0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738);15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991);65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.)

 

Median age: total: 37.03 years;male: 34.32 years;female: 39.7 years (2005 est.)

 

Population growth rate: -0.09% (2005 est.)

 

Birth rate: 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Death rate: 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Net migration rate: 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 (2005 est.)

 

Infant mortality rate: total: 13.37 deaths/1,000 live births;male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births;female: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

 

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.72 years;male: 63.03 years;female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)

 

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (2001 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,000 (2001 est.)

 

Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s);adjective: Belarusian

 

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)

 

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: 99.6%;male: 99.8%;female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

 

Government

 

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

 

Government type: republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship

 

Capital: Minsk

 

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk

note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers

 

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: 15 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits

 

Legal system: based on civil law system

 

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

 

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)

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; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in 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%

 

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly 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 Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons

election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA

 

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)

 

Economy

 

Economy - overview: Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still, the economy continues 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; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy and the high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods.

 

GDP: purchasing power parity - $70.5 billion (2004 est.)

 

GDP - real growth rate: 6.4% (2004 est.)

 

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)

 

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11%;industry: 36.4%;services: 52.6% (2004 est.)

 

Labor force: 4.305 million (31 December 2003)

 

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)

 

Unemployment rate: 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)

 

Population below poverty line: 27.1% (2003 est.)

 

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 5.1%;highest 10%: 20% (1998)

 

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 21.7 (1998)

 

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17.4% (2004 est.)

 

Investment (gross fixed): 21.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

Budget: revenues: $3.326 billion;expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)

 

Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

 

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators

 

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2004 est.)

 

Electricity - production: 30 billion kWh (2004)

 

Electricity - consumption: 34.3 billion kWh (2004)

 

Electricity - exports: 800 million kWh (2004)

 

Electricity - imports: 3.2 billion kWh (2003)

 

Oil - production: 36,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

 

Oil - consumption: 285,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

 

Oil - exports: 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)

 

Oil - imports: 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

 

Natural gas - production: 250 million cu m (2004 est.)

 

Natural gas - consumption: 18.8 billion cu m (2004 est.)

 

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

 

Natural gas - imports: 18.5 billion cu m (2004 est.)

 

Current account balance: $-1.119 billion (2004 est.)

 

Exports: $11.47 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs

 

Exports - partners: Russia 38.7%, Poland 6.5%, Latvia 5.1%, Germany 5.1%, Ukraine 5.1% (2004)

 

Imports: $13.57 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals

 

Imports - partners: Russia 50%, Germany 13.3%, Ukraine 4.3%, Poland 4.2% (2004)

 

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $770.2 million (2004 est.)

 

Debt - external: $600 million (2004 est.)

 

Economic aid - recipient: $194.3 million (1995)

 

Currency (code): Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

 

Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000)

 

Fiscal year: calendar year

 

Communications

 

Telephones - main lines in use: 3,071,300 (2003)

 

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.118 million (2003)

 

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

 

Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
 

Television broadcast stations: 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)

 

Internet country code: .by

 

Internet hosts: 5,308 (2004)

 

Internet users: 1,391,900 (2003)

 

Transportation

 

Railways: total: 5,512 km;broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified);standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004)

 

Highways: total: 79,990 km;paved: 69,351 km;unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)

 

Waterways: 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)