Map of Belarus | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: For centuries Byelorussia has been fought over, devastated, and partitioned among Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and, in World Wars I and II, Germany. After seven decades as a Soviet republic, the newly named Belarus declared its independence in August 1991. Itretains close political and economic ties to Russia.


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Location: Eastern Europe, between Poland and Russia

Geographic coordinates

Map reference:

Area
Total: 207,600 km²
Land: 207,600 km²

Land boundaries: total 3,098 km, Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none; landlocked

Climate

Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland

Elevation

Natural resources: forest land, peat deposits

Land use
Arable land: 29%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 15%
Forest and woodland: 0%
Other: 56%

Irrigated land: 1,490 km² (1990)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 10,370,269 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 0.34% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Belarusian(s)
Adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9%

Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other
Total population: 100%
Male: 100%
Female: 100%

Religions: Eastern Orthodox NA%, other NA%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.34% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 13.28 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 11.1 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.26 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: southern part of Belarus highly contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl'
Current issues note: landlocked

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 19.2 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.73 years
Male: 66.04 years
Female: 75.66 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
Conventional short form: Belarus
Local long form: Respublika Belarus
Local short form: none
Former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: Minsk

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: 24 August (1991)

Constitution: adopted NA April 1978

Legal system: based on civil law system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chairman of the Supreme Soviet, chairman of the Council of Ministers; note - Belarus has approved a directly elected presidency but so far no elections have been scheduled

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Soviet

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Designate Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV
In the us chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 619, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: (202) 638-2,954
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador David H. SWARTZ
From the us embassy: Starovilenskaya #46, Minsk
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,862
From the us telephone: 7-0172-34-65-37

Flag description: three horizontal bands of white (top), red, and white

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: In many ways Belarus resembles the three Baltic states, for example, in its industrial competence, its higher-than-average standard of living, and its critical dependence on the other former Soviet states for fuels and raw materials. Belarus ranks fourth in gross output among the former Soviet republics, having produced 4% of the total GDP and employing 4% of the labor force in the old USSR. Once a mainly agricultural area, it now supplies important producer and consumer goods - sometimes as the sole producer - to the other states. Belarus had a significant share of the machine-building capacity of the former USSR. It is especially noted for production of tractors, large trucks, machine tools, and automation equipment. The soil in Belarus is not as fertile as the black earth of Ukraine, but by emphasizing favorable crops and livestock (especially pigs and chickens), Belarus has become a net exporter to the other former republics of meat, milk, eggs, flour, and potatoes. Belarus produces only small amounts of oil and gas and receives most of its fuel from Russia through the Druzhba oil pipeline and the Northern Lights gas pipeline. These pipelines transit Belarus en route to Eastern Europe. Belarus produces petrochemicals, plastics, synthetic fibers peat (more than one-third of the total for the former Soviet Union) is used in domestic heating, as boiler fuel for electric power stations, and in the production of chemicals. The potash supports fertilizer production. In 1992 GDP fell an estimated 13%, largely because the country is highly dependent on the ailing Russian economy for raw materials and parts.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -13% (1992 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for almost 25% of GDP and 5.7% of total agricultural output of former Soviet Union; employs 20% of the labor force; in 1988 produced the following (in percent of total Soviet production): grain (3.6%), potatoes (12.2%), vegetables (3.0%), meat (6.0%), milk (7.0%; net exporter of meat, milk, eggs, flour, potatoes domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Industries: employ about 27% of labor force and produce a wide variety of products essential to the other states; products include (in percent share of total output of former Soviet Union): tractors (12%; metal-cutting machine tools (11%; off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity (100%; wheel-type earthmovers for construction and mining (100%; eight- wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas (100%; equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding (25%; motorcycles (21.3%; television sets (11%; chemical fibers (28%; fertilizer (18%; linen fabric (11%; wool fabric (7%; radios; refrigerators; and other consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate -9.6%; accounts for about 50% of GDP (1992)

Labor force: 5.418 million
By occupation industry and construction: 42%
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 20%
By occupation other: 38% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 0.5% of officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports:
Commodoties: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Partners: NA

Imports: $751 million from outside the successor states of the former USSR (c.i.f., 1992)
Commodoties: machinery, chemicals, textiles
Partners: NA

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: NA


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 8,025,000 kW capacity; 37,600 million kWh produced, 3,626 kWh per capita (1992)

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 56.5 billion rubles, NA% of GDP (1993 est.), note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 124
Usable: 55
With permanentsurface runways: 31
With runways over 3659 m: 1
With runways 2440-3659 m: 28
With runways 1220-2439 m: 20

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

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

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: NA km

Merchant marine: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs