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.

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
Note: (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: 90 m
Note: lowest point: Nyoman River

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% (2011 est.)
Forest: 42.7% (2011 est.)
Other: 13.6% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 1140 km² (2012)

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

Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations: 9,527,543 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 94
Growth rate: -0.24% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 211
Below poverty line: 5.7% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Belarusian(s)
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.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.91% (male 779,577 /female 736,481)
15-24 years: 9.96% (male 488,240 /female 460,673)
25-54 years: 44.49% (male 2,089,202 /female 2,149,486)
55-64 years: 14.42% (male 607,368 /female 766,238)
65 years and over: 15.22% (male 467,299 /female 982,979) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.8 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 23.2 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 20.6 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 4.9 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 40.3 years
Male: 37.4 years
Female: 43.3 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 49

Population growth rate: -0.24% (2018 est.)
Rank: 211

Birth rate: 10 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 191

Death rate: 13.2 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 10

Net migration rate: 0.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 61

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

Urbanization
Urban population: 78.6% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 0.44% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 2.005 million MINSK (capital) (2018)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 0.79 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

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

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.6 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 4 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 3.1 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 196

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.2 years (2018 est.)
Male: 67.8 years (2018 est.)
Female: 79 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 139

Total fertility rate: 1.49 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 197

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 63.1% (2012)

Drinking water source
Urban: 0.1% of population
Rural: 0.9% of population
Total: 0.3% of population (2015 est.)

Physicians density: 4.07 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 11 beds/1000 population (2013)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 5.9% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 4.8% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 5.7% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2017 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 69
People living with hivaids: 24,000 (2017 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 78
Deaths note: <500 (2017 est.)

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

Education expenditures: 5% of GDP (2016)
Rank: 75

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Total population: 99.7% (2015 est.)
Male: 99.8% (2015 est.)
Female: 99.7% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years (2015)
Male: 15 years (2015)
Female: 16 years (2015)

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 (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Etymology: the name is a compound of the Belarusian words bel (white) 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 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

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 (2016)
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 (2016)

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 (since 20 July 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Sergey RUMAS (since 18 August 2018); First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr TURCHIN (since 18 August 2018); Deputy Prime Ministers Igor LYASHENKO, Vladimir KUKHAREV, Igor PETRISHENKO (since 18 August 2018), Mikhail RUSYY (since 2012)
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 (no term limits); 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 (independent) 83.5%, Tatstyana KARATKEVICH (Tell the Truth) 4.4%, Sergey GAYDUKEVICH (LDP) 3.3%, other 8.8%; note - election marred by electoral fraud

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:: note: the US does not recognize the legitimacy of the National Assembly

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chairman and deputy chairman and organized into several specialized panels, including economic and military; number of judges set by the president of the republic and the court chairman); 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: oblast courts; Minsk City Court; town courts; Minsk city and oblast economic 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 (vacant; recalled by Belarus in 2008); Charge dAffaires Pavel SHIDLOVSKIY (since 23 April 2014)
In the us chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 986-1606
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
In the us consulate: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant; left in 2008 upon insistence of Belarusian Government); Charge dAffaires Jenifer MOORE(since August 2018)
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] (17) 210-1283
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 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 (We Belarusians)
Lyricsmusic: 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' (State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus)

Economy overview: As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base, but it is now outdated, inefficient, and dependent on subsidized Russian energy and preferential access to Russian markets. The country’s agricultural base is largely dependent on government subsidies. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, an initial burst of economic reforms included privatization of state enterprises, creation of private property rights, and the acceptance of private entrepreneurship, but by 1994 the reform effort dissipated. About 80% of industry remains in state hands, and foreign investment has virtually disappeared. Several businesses have been renationalized. State-owned entities account for 70-75% of GDP, and state banks make up 75% of the banking sector.Economic output declined for several years following the break-up of the Soviet Union, but revived in the mid-2000s. Belarus has only small reserves of crude oil and imports crude oil and natural gas from Russia at subsidized, below market, prices. Belarus derives export revenue by refining Russian crude and selling it at market prices. Russia and Belarus have had serious disagreements over prices and quantities for Russian energy. Beginning in early 2016, Russia claimed Belarus began accumulating debt - reaching $740 million by April 2017 - for paying below the agreed price for Russian natural gas and Russia cut back its export of crude oil as a result of the debt. In April 2017, Belarus agreed to pay its gas debt and Russia restored the flow of crude.New non-Russian foreign investment has been limited in recent years, largely because of an unfavorable financial climate. In 2011, a financial crisis lead to a nearly three-fold devaluation of the Belarusian ruble. The Belarusian economy has continued to struggle under the weight of high external debt servicing payments and a trade deficit. In mid-December 2014, the devaluation of the Russian ruble triggered a near 40% devaluation of the Belarusian ruble.Belarus’s economy stagnated between 2012 and 2016, widening productivity and income gaps between Belarus and neighboring countries. Budget revenues dropped because of falling global prices on key Belarusian export commodities. Since 2015, the Belarusian government has tightened its macro-economic policies, allowed more flexibility to its exchange rate, taken some steps towards price liberalization, and reduced subsidized government lending to state-owned enterprises. Belarus returned to modest growth in 2017, largely driven by improvement of external conditions and Belarus issued sovereign debt for the first time since 2011, which provided the country with badly-needed liquidity, and issued $600 million worth of Eurobonds in February 2018, predominantly to US and British investors.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 70

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 136

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 94

Gross national saving:
Rank: 64

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 54.8% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 14.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 24.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 5.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 67% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -67% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 40.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 51.1% (2017 est.)

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: 5.6% (2017 est.)
Rank: 47

Labor force: 4.381 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 89
By occupation agriculture: 9.7%
By occupation industry: 23.4%
By occupation services: 66.8% (2015 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 6

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

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 21.9% (2008)
Highest 10: 21.9% (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 148

Budget
Revenues: 22.15 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 20.57 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 14

Taxes and other revenues: 40.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 35

Public debt:
Rank: 90

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 184

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 14

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 86

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 113

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 119

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 92

Market value of publicly traded shares: NA

Current account balance:
Rank: 140

Exports:
Rank: 68
Partners: Russia 43.9%, Ukraine 11.5%, UK 8.2% (2017)
Commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs

Imports:
Rank: 65
Commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Partners: Russia 57.2%, China 8%, Germany 5.1% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 84

Debt external:
Rank: 75

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 100

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 79

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2016)
Production: 31.58 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 63
Consumption: 31.72 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 61
Exports: 3.482 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 40
Imports: 6.319 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 32
Installed generating capacity: 10.04 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 59
Generation sources fossil fuels: 96% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 37
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 47
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 1% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 145
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 121

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 32,000 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 60
Crude oil exports: 31,730 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 44
Crude oil imports: 468,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 21
Crude oil proven reserves: 198 million bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 56

Refined petroleum
Products production: 477,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 34
Products consumption: 141,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 68
Products exports: 351,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 25
Products imports: 14,630 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 135

Natural gas
Production: 59.46 million m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 84
Consumption: 17.7 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 39
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 67
Imports: 17.53 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 18
Proven reserves: 2.832 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 95

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 56.07 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 54

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,499,821 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 47 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 31
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 10,963,224 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 115 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 80

Telephone system
General assessment: fibre network reaches two million establishments; trial 5G services during the first half of 2019; 10,000km of fibre cabling laid; August 2018 almost two million GPON connections (Gigabit Passive Optical Network, point-to-multi point acess mechanism); 5 year plan is on track; Belarus launches its first telecoms satellite; LTE use reaches 75% of mobile subscribers (2018)
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved,  47 per 100 fixed-line; mobile-cellular teledensity now approaches 120 telephones per 100 persons (2017)
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); 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 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 71.1% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 62

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 3,163,286 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33 (2017 est.)
Rank: 38

Military expenditures:
Rank: 119

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)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 30 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,489,035 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1.807 million
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: EW (2016)

Airports: 65 (2013)
Rank: 75
With paved runways total: 33 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 20 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 32 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 28 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

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

Railways
Total: 5,528 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 25 km
Note: 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) (2014)
Broad gauge: 5,503 km
Rank: 35

Roadways
Total: 86,392 km (2010)
Paved: 74,651 km (2010)
Unpaved: 11,741 km (2010)
Rank: 57

Waterways: 2,500 km
Note: (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
Total: 4 (2017)
By type: other 4 (2017)
Rank: 164

Ports and terminals
River port: Mazyr (Prypyats)

Disputes international: boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuaniaas 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: 6,007 (2017)

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