1996 Edition

Description

red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe of white on the hoist side bears in red the Belarusian national ornament

Location

53 00 N, 28 00 E -- Eastern Europe, east of Poland Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly smaller than Kansas

land area

207,600 sq km

total area

207,600 sq km

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues

soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl'

international agreements

party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea

natural hazards

NA

Geographic coordinates

53 00 N, 28 00 E

Geographic note

landlocked

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

1,490 sq km (1990)

Land boundaries

border countries

Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

total

3,098 km

Land use

arable land

29%

forest and woodland

0%

meadows and pastures

15%

other

55%

permanent crops

1%

Location

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Map references

Commonwealth of Independent States

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural resources

forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas

Terrain

generally flat and contains much marshland

highest point

Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

lowest point

Nyoman River 90 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 21% (male 1,136,499; female 1,090,101) 15-64 years: 66% (male 3,334,077; female 3,536,982) 65 years and over: 13% (male 429,574; female 888,740) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

12.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

13.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

13.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Byelorussian, Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth

female

74.21 years (1996 est.)

male

63.2 years

total population

68.57 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)

female

97%

male

99%

total population

98%

Nationality

adjective

Belarusian

noun

Belarusian(s)

Net migration rate

3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

10,415,973 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

0.2% (1996 est.)

Religions

Eastern Orthodox 60%, other (including Roman Catholic and Muslim) 40% (early 1990's)

Sex ratio

all ages

0.89 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

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

Capital

Minsk

Constitution

adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April 1978

Data code

BO

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

chief of mission

Ambassador Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV

telephone

[1] (202) 986-1604

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers

chief of state

President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) was elected for a five-year term by popular vote; election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%

head of government

Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since NA July 1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN (since NA), Sergey LING (since NA), Leonid SINITSYN (since NA), Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA), Vladimir RUSAKEVICH (since NA)

note

first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

FAX

[1] (202) 986-1805

[375] (172) 34-78-53

consulate(s) general

New York

Flag

red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe of white on the hoist side bears in red the Belarusian national ornament

Independence

25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union); the Belarussian Supreme Soviet issued a proclamation of independence; on 17 July 1990 Belarus issued a declaration of sovereignty

International organization participation

CCC, CE (guest), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president; Constitutional Court

Legal system

based on civil law system

Legislative branch

unicameral

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of Belarus

conventional short form

Belarus

former

Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

local long form

Respublika Byelarus'

local short form

none

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 July (1990)

Political parties and leaders

Belarusian Communist Party (KPB), Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen; Agrarian Party, Semen SHARETSKIY; Civic Accord Bloc (CAB); Party of People's Concord, Gennadiy KARPENKO; Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord (UPNAZ), Dmitriy BULAKOV; Belarusian Social-Democrat Hramada (SDBP), Alex TRUSOV; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (BPR), Anatol BARANKEVICH; Green Party of Belarus, Mikalay KARTASH; Republican Party of Labor and Justice, Anatol NETSILKIN; Belarus Peasants (BSP), Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman; Belarusian Popular Front (NFB), Zenon POZNYAK, chairman; Belarusian Social Sports Party, Vladimir ALEKSANDROVICH; Ecological Party, Aleksiy MIKULICH; National Democratic Party of Belarus (NDPB), Victor NAVUMENKA; United Democratic Party of Belarus (ADPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY; Belarusian Socialist Party (SPB), Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV; Slavic Assembly (SAB), Nikolai SYARECHEV; Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPB), Vasil KRIVENKA; Belarusian Christian-Democratic Unity (BKDZ), Petr SILKO; Polish Democratic Union (PDZ), Konstantin TARASEVICH; Party of Beer Lovers, Yuriy GONCHAR; Belarusian Labor Party (BPP), Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Supreme Soviet

elections last held May, Nov-Dec 1995 (two rounds, each with a run-off; next to be held NA 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (260 total) KPB 42, Agrarian 33, CAB 9, Party of People's Concord 8, UPNAZ 2, SDPB 2, BPR 1, Green Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, BSP 1, NFB 1, Social and Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, independents 95, vacant 62

Type of government

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador Kenneth Spencer YALOWITZ

embassy

Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk

mailing address

use embassy street address

telephone

[375] (172) 31-50-00

Agriculture

grain, potatoes, vegetables; meat, milk

Budget

expenditures

$5.47 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

revenues

$4.95 billion

Currency

Belarusian rubel (BR)

Economic aid

note

commitments, $3,930 million ($1,845 million disbursements), 1992-95

recipient

ODA, $186 million (1993)

Economic overview

At the time of independence in late 1991, Belarus was one of the most developed of the former Soviet states, inheriting a modern - by Soviet standards - machine building sector and robust agricultural sector. However, the breakup of the Soviet Union and its traditional trade ties, as well as the government's failure to embrace market reforms, has resulted in a sharp economic decline. Privatization is virtually nonexistent and the system of state orders and distribution persists. Although President LUKASHENKO pronounces his 1995 macro stabilization policies a success - annual inflation dropped from 2,220% in 1994 to 244% in 1995 - the IMF has criticized his insistence on maintaining the steady exchange rate for Belarusian rubel, which has traded at 11,500 to the dollar since late 1994. The IMF suspended Minsk's $300 million standby program in November 1995 until the government would agree to a devaluation of the rubel. The overvalued rubel has especially hurt Belarusian exporters, most of which now operate at a loss. In addition, the January 1995 Customs Union agreement with Russia - which required Minsk to adjust its foreign trade practices to mirror Moscow's - has resulted in higher import tariffs for Belarusian consumers; tariffs have risen from 5%-20% to 20%-40%.

Electricity

capacity

7,010,000 kW

consumption per capita

2,300 kWh (1995 est.)

production

24.9 billion kWh

Exchange rates

Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 11,500 (yearend 1995), 10,600 (yearend 1994)

Exports

$4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995)

commodities

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs

partners

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany

External debt

$2 billion (September 1995 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $49.2 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

21%

industry

49%

services

30% (1991 est.)

GDP per capita

$4,700 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

-10% (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs

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

Imports

$4.6 billion (c.i.f., 1995)

commodities

fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar

partners

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany

Industrial production growth rate

-11% (1995 est.)

Industries

tractors, metal-cutting machine tools, off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity, wheel-type earth movers for construction and mining, eight-wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas, equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, linen fabric, wool fabric, radios, refrigerators, other consumer goods

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

244% (1995 est.)

Labor force

4.259 million

by occupation

industry and construction 40%, agriculture and forestry 21%, other 39% (1992)

Unemployment rate

2.6% officially registered unemployed (December 1994); large numbers of underemployed workers

Branches

Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Defense expenditures

892 billion rubels, 1% of GDP (1995); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

2,635,570

males fit for military service

2,067,676

males reach military age (18) annually

76,006 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 35, FM 18, shortwave 0

Radios

3.17 million (1991 est.) (5,615,000 with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion)

Telephone system

telephone service inadequate for the purposes of either business or the population; about 70% of the telephones are in homes; over 750,000 applications from households for telephones remain unsatisfied (1992 est.); new investment centers on international connections and business needs

domestic

the new NMT-450 analog cellular system is now operating in Minsk

international

international traffic is carried by the Moscow international gateway switch and also by satellite; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (through Canada) and 1 Eutelsat (through the UK)

Telephones

1.849 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations

2 (one national and one private; the license of the private station was suspended during the parliamentary elections of 1994)

Televisions

3.5 million (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

118

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

5

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

18

with paved runways over 3 047 m

2

with paved runways under 914 m

11

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

4

with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

6

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

9

with unpaved runways over 3 047 m

1

with unpaved runways under 914 m

62 (1994 est.)

Highways

paved

61,000 km (including graveled)

total

92,200 km

unpaved

31,200 km (1994 est.)

Merchant marine

note

claims 5% of former Soviet fleet (1995 est.)

Pipelines

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

Ports

Mazyr

Railways

broad gauge

5,488 km 1.520-m gauge (873 km electrified) (1993)

total

5,488 km

Waterways

NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems