Belarus

§1. Belarus Introduction

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,
  Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through
  authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the
  press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.

§2. Belarus Geography

Location:
  Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates:
  53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references:
  Europe

Area:
  total: 207,600 km²
  land: 207,600 km²
  water: 0 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,900 km
  border countries: 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
  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: 26.77%
  permanent crops: 0.6%
  other: 72.63% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  1,150 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  NA

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

Environment - 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
  signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

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

§3. Belarus People

Population:
  10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)
  15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950)
  65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 37.2 years
  male: 34.5 years
  female: 39.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  -0.06% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.08 years
  male: 63.47 years
  female: 74.98 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  15,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  1,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Belarusian(s)
  adjective: Belarusian

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

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

Languages:
  Belarusian, Russian, other

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 99.6%
  male: 99.8%
  female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

§4. Belarus Government

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:
  6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad);
  Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk
  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,
    Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996
    referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004
    referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run in a
    third election held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime
    ministers appointed by the president
  election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote
    - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN
    2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud

Legislative branch:
  bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the
  Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected
  by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for
  four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata
  Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to
  serve four-year terms)
  elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely
    denounced the 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:
  Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY];
    Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic
    Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH,
    chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH];
    Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party
    [Vladimir
  ALEXANDROVICH]; Opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr
    MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey
    KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr
    BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk
    VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH];
    Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered)
    [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's
    Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]; Other opposition
  includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH
    [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon
    PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular
    Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of
  Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki
  Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina
  ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth
  (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike
  Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY];
  Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol
  SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic
  Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH,
  Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
  chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
  FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
  consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
  embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002
  mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723
  telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348
  FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853

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

§5. Belarus Economy

Economy - overview:
  Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in
  lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far
  its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result
  of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected.
  Trade with European countries increased. 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. During 2005, the government re-nationalized a number of
  private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by
  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. Because of
  these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting
  foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent
  years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a
  high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive
  heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth
  can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $79.13 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $26.69 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $7,700 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 8.9%
  industry: 26.8%
  services: 64.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  4.3 million (31 December 2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed
  workers (2005)

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:
  30.4 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  8% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  20.7% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $5.903 billion
  expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180
    million (2005 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:
  15.6% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  30 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  34.3 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  800 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  7 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  36,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  252,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - imports:
  360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  250 million m³ (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  20.5 billion m³ (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  0 m³ (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  20.5 billion m³ (2005 est.)

Current account balance:
  $312.4 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $16.14 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles,
  foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
  Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)

Imports:
  $16.94 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals

Imports - partners:
  Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $835.4 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $194.3 million (1995)

Currency (code):
  Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

Exchange rates:
  Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27
  (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Belarus Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  3,175,900 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  2,239,300 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading
    telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole
    provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of
    the network to digital switching progressing slowly
  domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue
    to be underserved; two GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid
    growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies
  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

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:
  47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)

Internet country code:
  .by

Internet hosts:
  20,973 (2005)

Internet users:
  1.6 million (2005)

§7. Belarus Transportation

Airports:
  101 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 44
  over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 22
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
  914 to 1,523 m: 1
  under 914 m: 15 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 57
  over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
  914 to 1,523 m: 7
  under 914 m: 42 (2005)

Heliports:
  1 (2005)

Pipelines:
  gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 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)

Roadways:
  total: 93,055 km
  paved: 93,055 km (2003)

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

Ports and terminals:
  Mazyr

§8. Belarus Military

Military branches:
  Ground Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
  18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service
  obligation - 18 months (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 2,520,644 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 1,657,984 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 85,202 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $420.5 million (2006)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.4% (FY02)

§9. Belarus Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved
  financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security;
  the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with
  Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political
  union with Russia proceed slowly

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


<Factbook 2006>
