World Facts Index
 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.
Geography of Belarus
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Location:
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Eastern Europe, east of
Poland |
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Coordinates:
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53 00 N, 28 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km |
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Area comparative:
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slightly smaller than
Kansas |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km,
Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked) |
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Climate:
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cold winters, cool and
moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
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Terrain:
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generally flat and contains
much marshland |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Nyoman
River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
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Natural resources:
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forests, peat deposits,
small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone,
marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
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Environment - current issues:
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soil pollution from
pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout
from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked; glacial
scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its
11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive
deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and
clay
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More Geography
Population of Belarus
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Population:
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9,685,768 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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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) |
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Median age:
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37.2 years |
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Infant mortality:
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13 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 69.08 years
male: 63.47 years
female: 74.98 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.43 children born/woman |
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Nationality:
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noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish,
Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
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Religions:
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Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% |
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Languages:
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Belarusian, Russian, other |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5%
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Government
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of
Belarus
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
local long form: Respublika Byelarus' |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Minsk |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya,' the word
Voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
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Independence:
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25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
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National holiday:
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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 |
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Constitution:
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30 March 1994; revised by national
referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became
effective 27 November 1996 |
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Legal system:
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based on civil law system |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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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 |
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Legislative branch:
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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) |
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
Economy
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.
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GDP:
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$103.5 billion (2007 est.) |
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GDP growth rate:
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8% |
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GDP per capita:
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$10,600 |
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GDP composition by sector:
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agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6%
services: 59.1% |
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Population below poverty line:
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27.1% |
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Inflation rate:
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10.3% |
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Labor force:
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4.3 million |
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Labor force by occupation:
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agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7%
services: 51.3% |
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Unemployment:
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1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of
underemployed workers |
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Budget:
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revenues: $5.903 billion
expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million |
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Industries:
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metal-cutting machine tools, tractors,
trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles,
radios, refrigerators |
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Electricity production by source:
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fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.4% |
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Agriculture:
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grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets,
flax; beef, milk |
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Exports:
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machinery and equipment, mineral products,
chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
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Export partners:
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Russia 43.4%, Poland 6%, UK 5.3%, Ukraine 5% |
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Imports:
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mineral products, machinery and equipment,
chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
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Import partners:
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Russia 60.5%, Germany 9.2%, Poland 4.9% |
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Currency:
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Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |