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 have 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 and only directly elected president Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on political and civil freedoms freedom of speech and the press peaceful assembly and religion have remained in place.


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Location: Eastern Europe east of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N 28 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 207,600 km²
Land: 202,900 km²
Water: 4,700 km²
Rank: 87
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries
Total: 3,642 km
Border countries: (5) Latvia 161 km; Lithuania 640 km; Poland 418 km; Russia 1312 km; Ukraine 1111 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: cold winters cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain: generally flat with much marshland

Elevation
Mean elevation: 160 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m: highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.7%
Forest: 42.7%
Other: 13.6%

Irrigated land: 1140 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: large tracts of marshy land

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


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Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations: 9,549,747 (July 2017 est.)
Rank: 93
Growth rate: -0.22% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 211
Below poverty line: 5.7% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Belarusian
Adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 83.7% Russian 8.3% Polish 3.1% Ukrainian 1.7% other 2.4% unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)

Languages: Russian (official) 70.2% Belarusian (official) 23.4% other 3.1% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities) unspecified 3.3% (2009 est.)

Religions: Orthodox 48.3% Catholic 7.1% other 3.5% non-believers 41.1% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.78%
15-24 years: 10.29%
25-54 years: 44.76%
55-64 years: 14.21%
65 years and over: 14.95% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.8
Youth dependency ratio: 23.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 20.6
Potential support ratio: 4.9

Median age
Total: 40 years
Male: 37.1 years
Female: 43.1 years
Rank: 51

Population growth rate: -0.22% (2017 est.)
Rank: 211

Birth rate: 10.3 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 191

Death rate: 13.2 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 12

Net migration rate: 0.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 62

Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Urbanization
Urban population: 77.4% of total population
Rate of urbanization: -0.04% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: MINSK (capital) 1.915 million (2015)

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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male/female
25-54 years: 0.97 male/female
55-64 years: 0.79 male/female
65 years and over: 0.46 male/female
Total population: 0.87 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 25.7 years (2014 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.6 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.1 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 200

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73 years
Male: 67.5 years
Female: 78.8 years
Rank: 141

Total fertility rate: 1.48 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 199

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 63.1% (2012)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 4.07 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 11.3 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2016 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 76
People living with hivaids: 19,000 (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 80
Deaths: 200 (2016 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.5% (2016)
Rank: 58

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 4.9% of GDP (2015)
Rank: 71

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.7%
Male: 99.8%
Female: 99.7%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 16 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
Conventional short form: Belarus
Local long form: Respublika Byelarus'/Respublika Belarus'
Local short form: Byelarus'/Belarus'
Former: Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Etymology: the name is a compound of the Belarusian words 'bel' and 'Rus' (the Old East Slavic ethnic designation) to form the meaning White Rusian or White Ruthenian

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

Capital
Name: Minsk
Geographic coordinates: 53 54 N 27 34 E
Time difference: UTC+2

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)
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers; Russian spelling provided for reference when different from Belarusian

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
History: several previous; latest drafted between late 1991 and early 1994 signed 15 March 1994
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic through petition to the National Assembly or by petition of least 150,000 eligible voters; approval required by at least two-thirds majority vote in both chambers or by simple majority of votes cast in a referendum

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

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

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Belarus
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: president Aleksandr LUKASHENKO
Head of government: prime minister Andrey KOBYAKOV ; first deputy prime minister Vasily MATYUSHEVSKIY (since 27 December 2014)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; first election took place on 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution the next election should have been held in 1999; however Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held on 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run and win in a third (19 March 2006) fourth (19 December 2010) and fifth election (11 October 2015); next election in 2020; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly
Election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 83.5% Tatsiana KARATKEVICH (Tell the Truth) 4.4% Sergey GAYDUKEVICH (LDP) 3.3% other 8.8%; note - election marred by electoral fraud

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Council of the Republic or Sovet Respubliki and the House of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed; members serve 4-year terms); note - the US does not recognize the legitimacy of the National Assembly
Elections: House of Representatives - last held on 11 September 2016 ; OSCE observers determined that the election was neither free nor impartial and that vote counting was problematic in a number of polling stations; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won virtually every seat with only the UCP member and one independent forming alternative representation in the House; international observers determined that the previous elections on 28 September 2008 and 23 September 2012 also fell short of democratic standards with pro-LUKASHENKO candidates winning every seat
Election results: Council of the Republic - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KPB 8 Belarusian Patriotic Party 3 Republican Party of Labor and Justice 3 LDP 1 UCP 1 independent 94

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court ; Constitutional Court (consists of 12 judges including a chairman and deputy chairman)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Council of the Republic; judges initially appointed for 5 years and evaluated for life appointment; Constitutional Court judges - 6 appointed by the president and 6 elected by the Council of the Republic; the presiding judge directly elected by the president and approved by the Council of the Republic; judges can serve for 11 years with an age limit of 70
Subordinate courts: provincial courts; first instance (district) courts; economic courts; military courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: BSEC (observer) CBSS (observer) CEI CIS CSTO EAEC EAEU 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
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Pavel SHIDLOVSKIY (since 23 April 2014)
In the us chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] 986-1606
In the us FAX: [1] 986-1805
In the us consulate general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Robert RILEY (since 22 August 2016)
From the us embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street Minsk 220,002
From the us mailing address: Unit 7,010 Box 100 DPO AE 9,769
From the us telephone: [375] 210-1283
From the us FAX: [375] 234-7,853

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: no clearly defined current national symbol the mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser) is the traditional Belarusian symbol; national colors: green red white

National anthem
Name: 'My Bielarusy'
Lyrics and music: Mikhas KLIMKOVICH and Uladzimir KARYZNA/Nester SAKALOUSKI
Note: music adopted 1955 lyrics adopted 2002; after the fall of the Soviet Union Belarus kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem but adopted new lyrics; also known as 'Dziarzauny himn Respubliki Bielarus'

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 71

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 208

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 93

Gross national saving:
Rank: 79

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 54.6%
Government consumption: 16.1%
Investment in fixed capital: 23.9%
Investment in inventories: 5.4%
Exports of goods and services: 62.7%
Imports of goods and services: -62.7%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.1%
Industry: 39.6%
Services: 52.3%

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

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools tractors trucks earthmovers motorcycles synthetic fibers fertilizer textiles refrigerators washing machines and other household appliances

Industrial production growth rate: -4% (2016 est.)
Rank: 184

Labor force: 4.381 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 90
By occupation agriculture: 9.7%
By occupation industry: 23.4%
By occupation services: 66.8%

Unemployment rate:
Note: official registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers
Rank: 4

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 5.7% (2016 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.8%
Highest 10: 21.9%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 140

Budget
Revenues: $19.6 billion
Expenditures: $18.95 billion
Surplus or deficit: 1.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 18

Taxes and other revenues: 40.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 39

Public debt:
Rank: 105

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 207

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 11

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 47

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 120

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 125

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 88

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:
Rank: 146

Exports:
Rank: 67
Commodities: machinery and equipment mineral products chemicals metals textiles foodstuffs
Partners: Russia 46.3% Ukraine 12.2% UK 4.6% Germany 4% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 66
Commodities: mineral products machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs metals
Partners: Russia 55.5% China 7.8% Germany 4.9% Poland 4.4% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 94

Debt external:
Rank: 73

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 98

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 77

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100%
Production: 32.04 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 63
Consumption: 31.75 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 61
Exports: 3.482 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 40
Imports: 6.104 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 35
Installed generating capacity: 10.08 million kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 60
Generation sources fossil fuels: 99.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 31
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 56
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 151
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 142

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 32,670 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 61
Crude oil exports: 31,770 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 48
Crude oil imports: 450,200 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 22
Crude oil proven reserves: 198 million bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 59

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 471,600 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 36
Products consumption: 172,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 62
Products exports: 290,300 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 27
Products imports: 2,387 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 184

Natural gas
Production: 30 million m³ (2015 est.)
Production rank: 88
Consumption: 26.5 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 40
Exports: 0 m³ (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 73
Imports: 17.3 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 21
Proven reserves: 2.832 billion m³ (1 January 2017 es)
Proven reserves rank: 99

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 70 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 50

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,515,382
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 47
Fixed lines rank: 35
Mobile cellular total: 11,439,866
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 120
Mobile cellular rank: 80

Telephone system
General assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; modernization of the network progressing with over two-thirds of switching equipment now digital
Domestic: state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; the country has three major GSM mobile-cellular networks; mobile-cellular teledensity now approaches 120 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); 3 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 (2017)

Broadcast media: 7 state-controlled national TV channels; Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas; state-run Belarusian Radio operates 5 national networks and an external service; Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2017)

Internet
Country code: .by
Users total: 6,805,786
Users percent of population: 71.1%
Users rank: 66

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 82

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory military or alternative service; conscript service obligation is 12-18 months depending on academic qualifications and 24-36 months for alternative service depending on academic qualifications; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes where they are classified as military personnel (2016)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 30
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,489,035
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1.807 million mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: EW (2016)

Airports: 65 (2013)
Rank: 75
With paved runways total: 33
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 20
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 7
With unpaved runways total: 32
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 28

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 5,386 km; oil 1589 km; refined products 1730 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 5,528 km
Broad gauge: 5,503 km 1.520-m gauge
Standard gauge: 25 km 1.435-m gauge
Rank: 34

Roadways
Total: 86,392 km
Paved: 74,651 km
Unpaved: 11,741 km
Rank: 56

Waterways: 2,500 km (major rivers are the west-flowing Western Dvina and Neman Rivers and the south-flowing Dnepr River and its tributaries the Berezina Sozh and Pripyat Rivers) (2011)
Rank: 35

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
River port: Mazyr


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Disputes international: boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border Poland has implemented strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its border with Belarus

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 244,621 applicants for forms of legal stay other than asylum (Ukraine) (2017)
Stateless persons: 6,182

Illicit drugs
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: 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