2008 Edition

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

Area

total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Kansas

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation extremes

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

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 2.79 cu km/yr (23%/47%/30%) per capita: 286 cu m/yr (2000)

Geographic coordinates

53 00 N, 28 00 E

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

1,310 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 3,306 km border countries: Latvia 171 km, Lithuania 680 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Land use

arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)

Location

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

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

Terrain

generally flat and contains much marshland

Total renewable water resources

58 cu km (1997)

Age structure

0-14 years: 14.4% (male 717,885/female 677,254) 15-64 years: 70.9% (male 3,333,699/female 3,531,920) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 459,627/female 965,383) (2008 est.)

Birth rate

9.62 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

13.92 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Education expenditures

6.1% of GDP (2006)

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

15,000 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 6.53 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Languages

Belarusian, Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 70.34 years male: 64.63 years female: 76.4 years (2008 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census)

Median age

total: 38.4 years male: 35.4 years female: 41.3 years (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian

Net migration rate

0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Population

9,685,768 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.393% (2008 est.)

Religions

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

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 15 years male: 14 years female: 15 years (2006)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.23 children born/woman (2008 est.)

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

Capital

name: Minsk geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

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

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jonathan MOORE embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348

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

Executive branch

chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Sergey SIDORSKIY (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 and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was 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

FAX

[1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York

[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

Government type

republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship

Independence

25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

International organization participation

BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

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)

Legal system

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Palata Predstaviteley - last held 28 September 2008 (next to be held fall of 2012); international observers widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic based on massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won all 110 seats 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

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

Political parties and leaders

pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH] opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party (unregistered) [Pavel SEVERINETS]; Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada (People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Aleksandr KOZULIN; Anatoliy LEVKOVICH, acting]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergey YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom (unregistered) [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; 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) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH, Sergey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Budget

revenues: $20.75 billion expenditures: $20.87 billion (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

10% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

8.58% (31 December 2007)

Currency (code)

Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

Currency code

BYB/BYR

Current account balance

-$2.876 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$7.347 billion (31 December 2007)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

29.7 (2002)

Economic aid - recipient

$53.76 million (2005)

Economy - overview

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. Since 2005, the government has 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. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 7% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy.

Electricity - consumption

30.43 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

5.789 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - imports

10.15 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production

29.91 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 99.5% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001)

Exchange rates

Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003)

Exports

$24.47 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs

Exports - partners

Russia 36.5%, Netherlands 17.8%, UK 6.3%, Ukraine 6.1%, Poland 5%, Latvia 4.1% (2007)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 8.7% industry: 40.6% services: 50.6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$10,600 (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

8.2% (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$44.77 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$103.5 billion (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)

Imports

$28.32 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals

Imports - partners

Russia 59.9%, Germany 7.6%, Ukraine 5.4% (2007)

Industrial production growth rate

5% (2007 est.)

Industries

metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8.4% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

30.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

4.3 million (31 December 2005)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA

Natural gas - consumption

21.76 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

21.6 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production

164 million cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

2.832 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Oil - consumption

179,700 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports

256,400 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

394,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - production

33,700 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

198 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

27.1% (2003 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$4.266 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$12.16 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$4.065 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$6.823 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

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

Internet country code

.by

Internet hosts

68,118 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

23 (2002)

Internet users

6 million (2007)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios

3.02 million (1997)

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; fixed-line teledensity of roughly 35 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of about 60 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 3 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); 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 (2007)

Telephones - main lines in use

3.672 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular

5.96 million (2006)

Television broadcast stations

47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions

2.52 million (1997)

Airports

67 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 36 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: 7 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 31 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 27 (2007)

Heliports

1 (2007)

Pipelines

gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007)

Ports and terminals

Mazyr

Railways

total: 5,512 km broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)

Roadways

total: 94,797 km paved: 84,028 km unpaved: 10,769 km (2005)

Waterways

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

Belarus Armed Forces

Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 2,491,643 females age 16-49: 2,528,779 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 1,727,974 females age 16-49: 2,093,106 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 64,232 female: 60,788 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures

1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation

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

Disputes - international

Boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania in 2006; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security

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 This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008