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.

Map reference: Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - European States, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total 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: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland

Natural resources: forest land, peat deposits

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

Irrigated land: 1,490 km² (1990)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 10,404,862 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 0.32% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Belarusian(s)

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

Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other

Religions: Eastern Orthodox, other

Population growth rate: 0.32% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 13.12 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 11.16 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.27 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Environment
Current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of Belarus contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl'

Infant mortality rate: 18.9 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.88 years
Male: 66.2 years
Female: 75.79 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.88 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 9-49 can read and write (1979)
Total population: 100%
Male: 100%
Female: 100%

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
Conventional short form:
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

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)

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

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President-elect Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (elected 10 July 1994, but not yet inaugurated) election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA); Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14%
Head of government: Prime Minister Vyacheslav F. KEBICH (since NA April 1990; offered his resignation on the election of LUCHASHENKO), First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH (since NA 1991)

Legislative branch: Army, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Supreme Soviet: elections last held 4 April 1990 (next to be held NA); results - Communists 87%; seats - (360 total) number of seats by party NA; note - 50 seats are for public bodies; the Communist Party obtained an overwhelming majority

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation: CBSS (observer), CE (guest), CEI (participating), CIS, CSCE, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires George KROL
From the us chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
From the us telephone: 7-0172-34-65-37
From the us fax: (202) 986-1805)
From the us embassy: Starovilenskaya #46, Minsk
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address

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

Economy overview: Belarus ranks among the most developed of the former Soviet states, with a relatively modern - by Soviet standards - and diverse machine building sector and a robust agriculture sector. It also serves as a transport link for Russian oil exports to the Baltic states and Eastern and Western Europe. The breakup of the Soviet Union and its command economy has resulted in a sharp economic contraction as traditional trade ties have collapsed. At the same time, the Belarusian Government has lagged behind most other former Soviet states in economic reform; privatization has barely begun; the agriculture sector remains highly subsidized; the state retains control over many prices; and the system of state orders and distribution persists. Meanwhile, the national bank continues to pour credits into inefficient enterprises, fueling inflation and weakening incentives to improve performance. The government is pinning its hopes on reintegration with the Russian economy, but such a path would only partially restore traditional trade ties. Until economic reform is embraced, Belarus will continue in its economic morass.

Real gdp growth rate: -9% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $5,890 (1993 est.)

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: employ about 40% of labor force and produce a wide variety of products including (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: -11% (1993; accounts for about 40% of GDP (1992)

Labor force: 4.887 million
By occupation industry and construction: 40%
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 21%
By occupation other: 39% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 1.4% officially registered unemployed (December 1993; large numbers of underemployed workers

Budget: revenues:$NA

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $710 million to outside of the FSU countries (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria

Imports: $743 million from outside the FSU countries (c.i.f., 1993)
Commodities: fuel, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar
Partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland

Debt external: $NA

Exchange rates: NA

Electricity
Capacity: 8,025,000 kW
Production: 37.6 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 3,626 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: 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

Airports: 124
Usable: 55
With permanentsurface runways: 31
With runways over 3659 m: 1
With runways 2440-3659 m: 28
With runways 10602439 m: 20
Note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

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

Waterways: NA km

Merchant marine: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet

Disputes international: none

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