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Communications

Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]

AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11

Radios [time series]

3.17 million (1991 est.)

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

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's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE) 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 due to this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat and Intersputnik earth stations

Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones) [time series]

2.55 million (October 1998)

Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]

17 (1997); note--Belarus has a state-run television broadcasting network; independent local television stations exist

Televisions [time series]

9,686,854 (1996)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture--products) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Belarusian rubel (BR)

Debt - external (Debt--external) [time series]

$1.03 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid (Economic aid--recipient) [time series]

$194.3 million (1995)

Economic overview (Economy--overview) [time series]

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 re-imposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. This produced a climate hostile to private business, inhibiting domestic and foreign investment. The Government of Belarus has artificially revived economic output since mid-1996 by pursuing a policy of rapid credit expansion. In a vain attempt to keep the rapidly rising inflation in check, the government placed strict price controls on food and consumer products, which resulted in food shortages. Long lines for dairy products, chicken, and pork became common in the closing months of 1998. With the goal of slowing down the devaluation of the Belarusian ruble, LUKASHENKO in 1997 introduced a new, complex system of legal buying/selling hard currencies. The new "command" system proved to be totally unworkable and resulted in galloping devaluation. In addition to the burdens imposed on businesses by high inflation and an artificial currency regime, businesses have also been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. A further economic problem is the sizable trade deficit.

Electricity - consumption (Electricity--consumption) [time series]

33.7 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity - exports (Electricity--exports) [time series]

2.7 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity - imports (Electricity--imports) [time series]

10.3 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity - production (Electricity--production) [time series]

26.1 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source (Electricity--production by source) [time series]

fossil fuel: 99.92% hydro: 0.08% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1997)

Exchange rates [time series]

Belarusian rubels per US$1--139,000 (25 January 1999 official Belarusian exchange rate), 46,080 (2nd qtr 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996), 11,500 (yearend 1995), 10,600 (yearend 1994)

Exports [time series]

$7 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports - commodities (Exports--commodities) [time series]

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs

Exports - partners (Exports--partners) [time series]

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power parity--$53.7 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP--composition by sector) [time series]

agriculture: 20% industry: 43% services: 37% (1997 est.)

Real GDP per capita (GDP--per capita) [time series]

purchasing power parity?$5,200 (1998 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (GDP--real growth rate) [time series]

7% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]

lowest 10%: 4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993)

Imports [time series]

$8.5 billion (c.i.f., 1998)

Imports - commodities (Imports--commodities) [time series]

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

Imports - partners (Imports--partners) [time series]

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany

Industrial production growth rate [time series]

11% (1998 est.)

Industries [time series]

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) [time series]

182% (1998)

Labor force [time series]

4.3 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation (Labor force--by occupation) [time series]

industry and construction 40%, agriculture and forestry 19%, services 41% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line [time series]

77% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate [time series]

2.3% officially registered unemployed (December 1998); large number of underemployed workers

Geography

Area [time series]

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

Area - comparative (Area--comparative) [time series]

slightly smaller than Kansas

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment--current issues) [time series]

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

International environmental agreements (Environment--international agreements) [time series]

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

Geographic coordinates [time series]

53 00 N, 28 00 E

Geography - note (Geography--note) [time series]

landlocked

Irrigated land [time series]

1,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total: 3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.)

Location [time series]

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Map references [time series]

Commonwealth of Independent States

Maritime claims [time series]

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards [time series]

Natural resources [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

generally flat and contains much marshland

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Capital [time series]

Minsk

Constitution [time series]

30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996

Country name [time series]

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

Data code [time series]

Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel V. SPECKHARD (recalled to Washington in June 1998; Charge d'Affaires Randall LE COCQ) embassy: Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk mailing address: use embassy street address

Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires CHEREPANSKY chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 consulate(s) general: New York

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18 November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997); First Deputy Prime Ministers Petr PROKOPOVICH (since 23 December 1996) and Vasiliy DOLGOLEV (since 2 December 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Vladimir ZAMETALIN (since 15 July 1997), Ural LATYPOV (since 30 December 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should be in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote--Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

Flag (Flag description) [time series]

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 the Belarusian national ornament in red

Government type [time series]

republic

Independence [time series]

25 August 1991 (Belarusian Supreme Soviet declaration of independence from the Soviet Union)

International organization participation [time series]

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

Judicial branch [time series]

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 [time series]

based on civil law system

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; eight appointed by the president and 56 indirectly elected by deputies of local councils for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; note--present members came from the former Supreme Soviet which LUKASHENKO disbanded in November 1996) elections: last held May and November-December 1995 (two rounds, each with a run-off; disbanded after the November 1996 referendum; next to be held NA) election results: after the November 1996 referendum, seats for the Chamber of Representatives were filled by former Supreme Soviet members as follows: PKB 24, Agrarian 14, Party of Peoples Concord 5, LDPB 1, UPNAZ 1, Green World Party 1, Belarusian Social Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, independents 61; 58 of the 64 seats in the Council of the Republic have been appointed/elected

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note--date set by referendum of 24 November 1996; represents Minsk liberation from German occupation

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Party of Communists Belarusian or chairman]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Introduction

Background [time series]

For centuries Byelorussia has been fought over, devastated, and partitioned among Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and, in World Wars I and II, Germany. After seven decades as a Soviet republic, the newly named Belarus declared its independence in August 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. On 25 December 1998, Russian President Boris YEL'TSIN and Belarusian President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO signed several agreements intended to provide greater political, economic, and social integration while preserving both states' sovereignty.

Military

Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]

Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards

Military expenditures - dollar figure (Military expenditures--dollar figure) [time series]

$100 million (1998)

Military expenditures (Military expenditures--percent of GDP) [time series]

2% (1998)

Military manpower - availability (Military manpower--availability) [time series]

males age 15-49: 2,700,034 (1999 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service (Military manpower--fit for military service) [time series]

males age 15-49: 2,115,121 (1999 est.)

Military manpower - military age (Military manpower--military age) [time series]

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually (Military manpower--reaching military age annually) [time series]

males: 79,905 (1999 est.)

People

Age structure [time series]

0-14 years: 19% (male 1,027,974; female 985,342) 15-64 years: 67% (male 3,390,552; female 3,591,245) 65 years and over: 14% (male 463,369; female 943,302) (1999 est.)

Birth rate [time series]

9.7 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate [time series]

13.71 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Ethnic groups [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

14.39 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Languages [time series]

Byelorussian, Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 68.13 years male: 62.04 years female: 74.52 years (1999 est.)

Literacy [time series]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian

Net migration rate [time series]

3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Population [time series]

10,401,784 (July 1999 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

-0.09% (1999 est.)

Religions [time series]

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

Sex ratio [time series]

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: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.32 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international (Disputes--international) [time series]

none

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Transportation

Airports [time series]

118 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways (Airports--with paved runways) [time series]

total: 36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways (Airports--with unpaved runways) [time series]

total: 82 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 62 (1996 est.)

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 53,407 km paved: 52,446 km unpaved: 961 km (1997 est.)

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]

Mazyr

Railways [time series]

total: 5,563 km broad gauge: 5,563 km 1.520-m gauge (894 km electrified)

Waterways [time series]

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