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. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics.


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Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 207,600 km²
Land: 207,600 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas

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: Cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain: Generally flat and contains much marshland
Lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
Highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

Elevation

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 29%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 15%
Forests and woodland: 0%
Other: 55%

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:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Belarusian(s)
Adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other

Religions: Eastern Orthodox, other

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl'
Current issues Natural hazards: NA
International agreements: party to_Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified_Climate Change, Law of the Sea
International agreements note: Landlocked

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
All ages:

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.57 years (1996 est.), 71.03 years (1995 est.)
Male: 63.2 years (1996 est.), 66.36 years (1995 est.)
Female: 74.21 years (1996 est.), 75.93 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

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
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1989 est.)
Total population: 98%
Male: 99%
Female: 97%

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 Byelarus'
Local short form: Byelarus'
Former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

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: The administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in parentheses

Dependent areas

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union; the Belarussian Supreme Soviet issued a proclamation of independence; on 17 July 1990 Belarus issued a declaration of sovereignty

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)

Constitution: Adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April 1978

Legal system: Based on civil law system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14%
Head of government: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since NA July 1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN (since NA), Sergey LING (since NA), Leonid SINITSYN (since NA), Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA), Vladimir RUSAKEVICH (since NA)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers
Note: First presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

Legislative branch: Unicameral Supreme Soviet:elections last held May, Nov-Dec 1995 (two rounds, each with a run-off; next to be held NA 2000; results_percent of vote by party NA; seats_(260 total) KPB 42, Agrarian 33, CAB 9, Party of People's Concord 8, UPNAZ 2, SDPB 2, BPR 1, Green Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, BSP 1, NFB 1, Social and Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, independents 95, vacant 62

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CCC, CE (guest), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: At the time of independence in late 1991, Belarus was one of the most developed of the former Soviet states, inheriting a modern_by Soviet standards_machine building sector and robust agricultural sector. However, the breakup of the Soviet Union and its traditional trade ties, as well as the government's failure to embrace market reforms, has resulted in a sharp economic decline. Privatization is virtually nonexistent and the system of state orders and distribution persists. Although President LUKASHENKO pronounces his 1995 macro stabilization policies a success_annual inflation dropped from 2,220% in 1994 to 244% in 1995_the IMF has criticized his insistence on maintaining the steady exchange rate for Belarusian rubel, which has traded at 11,500 to the dollar since late 1994. The IMF suspended Minsk's $300 million standby program in November 1995 until the government would agree to a devaluation of the rubel. The overvalued rubel has especially hurt Belarusian exporters, most of which now operate at a loss. In addition, the January 1995 Customs Union agreement with Russia_which required Minsk to adjust its foreign trade practices to mirror Moscow's_has resulted in higher import tariffs for Belarusian consumers; tariffs have risen from 5%-20% to 20%-40%.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate:

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 21% 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

Industries: tractors, metal-cutting machine tools, off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity, wheel-type earth movers for construction and mining, eight-wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas, equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, linen fabric, wool fabric, radios, refrigerators, other consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate -11% (1995 est.), -19% (1994; accounts for about 40% of GDP (1992)

Labor force: 4.259 million
By occupation Industry and construction: 40%
By occupation Agriculture and forestry: 21%
By occupation Other: 39% (1992)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $4.95 billion
Expenditures: $5.47 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

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:
Commodities:
Partners:

Imports
Total value:
Commodities:
Partners:

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1_11,500 (end 1995), 10,600 (end December 1994)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 24.9 billion kWh

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 2,300 kWh (1995 est.)

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: 1,849,000 telephones (1991 est.); 18 telephones/100 persons; telephone service inadequate for the purposes of either business or the population; about 70% of the telephones are in homes; over 750,000 applications from households for telephones remain unsatisfied (1992 est.); new investment centers on international connections and business needs
Domestic: the new NMT-450 analog cellular system is now operating in Minsk
International: international traffic is carried by the Moscow international gateway switch and also by 2 satellite earth stations near Minsk_1 INTELSAT (through Canada) and 1 EUTELSAT (through the U.K.)

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

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: 118
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 18
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 11
With paved runways With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 62 (1994 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Over 3047 m: 2
2438 to 3047 m: 18
15-24 to 2437 m: 5
Under 914 m: 11
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1

Airports with unpaved runways
2438 to 3047 m: 6
15-24 to 2437 m: 4
914 to 1523 m: 9
Under 914 m: 62 (1994 est.)

Heliports

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

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: NA km; note_Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems

Merchant marine: note:Claims 5% of former Soviet fleet

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: Illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe