Statistical information Belarus 2000

Belarus in the World
top of pageBackground: 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 but to date neither side has actively sought to implement the accord.
top of pageLocation: Eastern Europe east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N 28 00 E
Map reference:
Commonwealth of Independent StatesAreaComparative: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundariesCoastline: 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
ElevationNatural resources: forests peat deposits small quantities of oil and natural gas
Land useIrrigated land: 1000 km² (1993 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: NA
GeographyNote: landlocked
top of pagePopulation: 10,366,719 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: -0.17% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: 22% (1995 est.)
NationalityEthnic groups: Byelorussian 77.9% Russian 13.2% Polish 4.1% Ukrainian 2.9% other 1.9%
Languages: Byelorussian Russian other
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80% other (including Roman Catholic Protestant Jewish and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: -0.17% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 9.27 births/1000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 13.96 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.01 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 14.63 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracySchool life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameGovernment 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)
Dependent areasIndependence: 25 August 1991 (Belarusian Supreme Soviet declaration of independence from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day 3 July (1944); note - represents Minsk liberation from German occupation
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
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branchLegislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; eight appointed by the president and 56 indirectly elected by deputies of local councils for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; note - present members came from the former Supreme Soviet which LUKASHENKO disbanded in November 1996)
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
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party [Aleksandr PAVLOV acting chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN chairman]; Belarusian Green Party or BPZ [Mikalay KARTASH chairman]; Belarusian Labor Party or BPP [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV chairman]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH chairman]; Belarusian Social Sports Party or BSSP [Aleksandr ALEKSANDROVICH chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH chairman]; Ecological Party or BEP [Liudmila YELIZAROVA chairperson]; Liberal-Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH chairman]; Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord or UPNAZ [Dmitriy BULAKOV chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN chairman]; Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN chairman]; Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA chairperson]
International organization participation: CCC CEI CIS EAPC EBRD ECE IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Inmarsat Intelsat (nonsignatory user) Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU NAM OPCW OSCE PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representationFlag 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
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy 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 re-imposed 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 businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments e.g. arbitrary changes in regulations numerous rigorous inspections and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests 1998-99 and persistent trade deficits. 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.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: 1.5% (1999 est.)
Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,300 (1999 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: grain potatoes vegetables sugar beets flax; beef milk
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools tractors trucks earth movers motorcycles TV sets chemical fibers fertilizer textiles radios refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate: 8% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 4.3 million (1998)
By occupation industry and construction: NA%
By occupation agriculture and forestry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%
Unemployment rate: 2.3% officially registered unemployed (December 1998); large number of underemployed workers
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty line: 22% (1995 est.)
Gini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetTaxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer prices: 295% (1999 est.)
Central bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $6 billion (f.o.b. 1999)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals metals textiles foodstuffs
Partners: Russia 66% Ukraine Poland Germany Lithuania (1998)
Imports: $6.4 billion (c.i.f. 1999)
Commodities: mineral products machinery and equipment metals chemicals foodstuffs
Partners: Russia 54% Ukraine Germany Poland Lithuania (1998)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $1.1 billion (1998 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 730,000 (15 December 1999) 139,000 (25 January 1999) 46,080 (2nd qtr 1998) 25,964 (1997) 15,500 (yearend 1996) 11,500 (yearend 1995)
top of pageElectricityProduction: 21.893 billion kWh (1998)
Consumption: 28.66 billion kWh (1998)
Exports: 2.3 billion kWh (1998)
Imports: 10.6 billion kWh (1998)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesMain lines in use: 2.537 million (1997)
Mobile cellular: 8,000 (1999)
Telephone system: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
Broadcast mediaInternetService providers isps: 1 (1999)
Broadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $156 million (FY98)
Percent of gdp: 1.2% (FY98)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 118 (1996 est.)
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil 1470 km; refined products 1100 km; natural gas 1980 km (1992)
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
Merchant marinePorts and terminalsBelarus - Transnational issues 2000
top of pageDisputes international: none
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit 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