Map of Belarus | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 1994 as the country's first president Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press peaceful assembly and religion remain in place.


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Location: Eastern Europe east of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N 28 00 E

Map reference

Area
Rank: 86
Comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries

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

Natural resources: timber peat deposits small quantities of oil and natural gas granite dolomitic limestone marl chalk sand gravel clay

Land use

Irrigated land: 1310 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 58 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes


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Population: 9,643,566 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 89
Growth rate: -0.18% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 205
Below poverty line: 27.1% (2003 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 83.7% Russian 8.3% Polish 3.1% Ukrainian 1.7% other 3.2% (2009 census)

Languages: Belarusian (official) 23.4% Russian (official) 70.2% other 6.4% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities) (1999 census)

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: -0.18% (2012 est.)
Rank: 205

Birth rate: 11.1 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 173

Death rate: 13.9 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 12

Net migration rate: 0.38 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 66

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' in northern Ukraine

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 205

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 138

Total fertility rate: 1.45 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 196

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 4.869 physicians/1000 population (2007)

Hospital bed density: 11.23 beds/1000 population (2007)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 89
People living with hivaids: 17,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 82
Deaths: fewer than 1000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 69

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 1.3% (2005)
Rank: 117

Education expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 83

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: republic in name although in fact a dictatorship

Capital

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from the 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 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers; became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits

Legal system: civil law system; note - nearly all major codes (civil civil procedure criminal criminal procedure family and labor) have been revised and came into force in 1999 or 2000

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: bicameral national assembly or natsionalnoye sobraniye consists of the Council of the Republic or Sovet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional and Minsk city councils and 8 members appointed by the president to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the United States does not recognize the legitimacy of the national assembly

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

International organization participation: BSEC (observer) CBSS (observer) CEI CIS CSTO EAEC EAPC EBRD FAO GCTU IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (NGOs) ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM NSG OPCW OSCE PCA PFP SCO (dialogue member) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIFIL UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer) ZC

Diplomatic representation

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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red; the red band color recalls past struggles from oppression the green band represents hope and the many forests of the country

National symbols: mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser)

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: As part of the former Soviet Union Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base; it retained this industrial base - which is now outdated energy inefficient and dependent on subsidized Russian energy and preferential access to Russian markets - following the breakup of the USSR. The country also has a broad agricultural base which is inefficient and dependent on government subsidies. After an initial burst of capitalist reform from 1991-94 including privatization of state enterprises creation of institutions of private property and development of entrepreneurship Belarus' economic development greatly slowed. About 80% of all industry remains in state hands and foreign investment has been hindered by a climate hostile to business. A few banks which had been privatized after independence were renationalized. State banks account for 75% of the banking sector. Economic output which had declined for several years following the collapse of the Soviet Union revived in the mid-2000s thanks to the boom in oil prices. Belarus has only small reserves of crude oil though it imports most of its crude oil and natural gas from Russia at prices substantially below the world market. Belarus exported refined oil products at market prices produced from Russian crude oil purchased at a steep discount. In late 2006 Russia began a process of rolling back its subsidies on oil and gas to Belarus. Tensions over Russian energy reached a peak in 2010 when Russia stopped the export of all subsidized oil to Belarus save for domestic needs. In December 2010 Russia and Belarus reached a deal to restart the export of discounted oil to Belarus. Little new foreign investment has occurred in recent years. In 2011 a financial crisis began triggered by government directed salary hikes unsupported by commensurate productivity increases. The crisis was compounded by an increased cost in Russian energy inputs and an overvalued Belarusian ruble and eventually led to a near three-fold devaluation of the Belarusian ruble in 2011. In November 2011 Belarus agreed to sell to Russia its remaining shares in Beltransgaz the Belarusian natural gas pipeline operator in exchange for reduced prices for Russian natural gas. Receiving more than half of a $3 billion loan from the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Community Bail-out Fund a $1 billion loan from the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank and the $2.5 billion sale of Beltranzgas to Russian state-owned Gazprom helped stabilize the situation in 2012; nevertheless the Belarusian currency lost more than 60% of its value.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 62

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 74

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 77

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

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

Industries

Industrial production growth rate: 10.5% (2010 est.)
Rank: 11

Labor force: 5 million (2009)
Rank: 76

Unemployment rate: 1.6% (2005)
Rank: 6

Youth unemployment

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

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index: 21.7 (1998)
Rank: 125

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -1.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 60

Taxes and other revenues: 36.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 63

Public debt: 52.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 114

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 53.3% (2011 est.)
Rank: 223

Central bank discount rate: 13.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 13

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 13.58% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 60

Stock of narrow money: $4.211 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 97

Stock of broad money: $16.75 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 95

Stock of domestic credit: $25.21 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 72

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: -$5.775 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 150

Exports: $41.41 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 62
Commodities: machinery and equipment mineral products chemicals metals textiles foodstuffs
Partners: Russia 33.5% Netherlands 15.1% Ukraine 10.2% Latvia 7.7% Germany 4.5% (2011)

Imports: $45.13 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 55
Commodities: mineral products machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs metals
Partners: Russia 54.4% Germany 5.6% China 4.8% Ukraine 4.4% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $6.011 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 85

Debt external: $1.079 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 154

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 28.55 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 66
Consumption: 29.54 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 62
Exports: 3.933 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 34
Imports: 8.404 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 26
Installed generating capacity: 8.032 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 63
Generation sources fossil fuels: 99.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 50
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 55
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 148
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 95

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 30,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 66
Crude oil exports: 34,320 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 49
Crude oil imports: 431,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 18
Crude oil proven reserves: 198 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 63

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 427,800 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 36
Products consumption: 188,800 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 60
Products exports: 302,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 25
Products imports: 39,660 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 76

Natural gas
Production: 220 million m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 76
Consumption: 21.82 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 35
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 164
Imports: 21.6 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 17
Proven reserves: 2.832 billion m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 96

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 68.24 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 51

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 4.208 million (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 41
Mobile cellular: 10.695 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 71

Telephone system

Broadcast media: 4 state-controlled national TV channels; Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas; state-run Belarusian Radio operates 3 national networks and an external service; Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .by
Hosts: 295,217 (2012)
Hosts rank: 64
Users: 2.643 million (2009)
Users rank: 69

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 102

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 12-18 months depending on academic qualifications (2010)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 65 (2012)
Rank: 78

Heliports: 1 (2012)

Pipelines: gas 5,250 km; oil 1528 km; refined products 1730 km (2010)

Railways
Rank: 32

Roadways
Rank: 53

Waterways: 2,500 km (use limited by its location on the perimeter of the country and by its shallowness) (2011)
Rank: 36

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals: Mazyr


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Disputes international: boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania; Poland seeks enhanced demarcation and security along this Schengen hard border with financial assistance from the EU

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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; a small and lightly regulated financial center; anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards and was weakened further when know-your-customer requirements were curtailed in 2008; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities (2008)