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 1995 as the country's first president Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press peaceful assembly and religion continue.

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N 28 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 207,600 km²
Land: 207,600 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries
Total: 2,900 km
Border countries: (5) Latvia 141 km; , Lithuania 502 km; , Poland 407 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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
Extremes highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 29.55%
Permanent crops: 0.6%
Other: 69.85% (2001)

Irrigated land: 1150 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite dolomitic limestone marl chalk sand gravel and clay

Population: 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: -0.09% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: 27.1% (2003 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Belarusian
Adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 81.2% Russian 11.4% Polish 3.9% Ukrainian 2.4% other 1.1% (1999 census)

Languages: Belarusian Russian other

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991)
65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.)

Median age
Total: 37.03 years
Male: 34.32 years
Female: 39.7 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.09% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 10.83 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 14.15 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.42 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 est.)

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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male/female
Total population: 0.88 male/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.37 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 14.3 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 12.39 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.72 years
Male: 63.03 years
Female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 15,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 1000 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.6%
Male: 99.8%
Female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
Conventional short form: Belarus
Local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
Local short form: none
Former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic in name although in fact a dictatorship

Capital: Minsk

Administrative divisions
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers

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

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
Election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons
Election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA

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
Note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active

International organization participation: CEI CIS EAPC EBRD IAEA IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU MIGA NAM NSG OPCW OSCE PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
In the us chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
In the us fax: [1] (202) 986-1805
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
From the us embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220,002
From the us mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 9,723
From the us telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7,347, 217-7,348
From the us fax: [375] (17) 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 ornamention in red

Economy overview: Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still the economy continues to be hampered by high inflation persistent trade deficits and ongoing rocky relations with Russia Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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 reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. In addition businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments e.g. arbitrary changes in regulations numerous rigorous inspections retroactive application of new business regulations and arrests of 'disruptive' businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. For the time being Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years despite the roadblocks in a tough centrally directed economy and the high but decreasing rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $70.5 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 6.4% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 11%
Industry: 36.4%
Services: 52.6% (2004 est.)

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

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools tractors trucks earthmovers motorcycles televisions chemical fibers fertilizer textiles radios refrigerators

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 4.305 million (31 December 2003)
By occupation agriculture: 14%
By occupation industry: 34.7%
By occupation services: 51.3% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)

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

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 5.1%
Highest 10: 20% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index: 21.7 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $3.326 billion
Expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 17.4% (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $-1.119 billion (2004 est.)

Exports: $11.47 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment mineral products chemicals metals; textiles foodstuffs
Partners: Russia 47% UK 8.3% Netherlands 6.7% Poland 5.3% (2004)

Imports: $13.57 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: mineral products machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs metals
Partners: Russia 68.2% Germany 6.6% Ukraine 3.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $770.2 million (2004 est.)

Debt external: $600 million (2004 est.)

Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160 (2004) 2,051 (2003) 1790.92 (2002) 1390 (2001) 876.75 (2000)

Electricity
Production: 30 billion kWh (2004)
Consumption: 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Exports: 800 million kWh (2004)
Imports: 3.2 billion kWh (2003)

Natural gas
Production: 250 million m³ (2004 est.)
Consumption: 18.8 billion m³ (2004 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2004 est.)
Imports: 18.5 billion m³ (2004 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 3,071,300 (2003)
Mobile cellular: 1.118 million (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
Domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational
International: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three 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

Internet
Country code: .by
Hosts: 5,308 (2004)
Users: 1,391,900 (2003)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $176.1 million (FY02)
Percent of gdp: 1.4% (FY02)

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (May 2004)

Airports: 133 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 50
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 22
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 83
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 11
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 64 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)

Pipelines: gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1686 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 5,512 km
Broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)
Standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004)

Waterways: 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

Disputes international: 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004

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; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities