chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Imports - partners:
US 30.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 27.6%, UK 6.5% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$2.07 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$620 million (2007)
Debt - external:
$668 million (2003)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$5.513 billion (2005)
Currency (code):
Barbadian dollar (BBD)
Currency code:
BBD
Exchange rates:
Barbadian dollars (BBD) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2 (2006), 2
(2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)
Communications
Barbados
Telephones - main lines in use:
134,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
237,100 (2006)
Telephone system:
general assessment: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100
persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of about 85 per 100
persons
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-246; landing point for the East
Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other
islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin
Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat
-Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
(2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)
Radios:
237,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus 2 cable channels) (2004)
Televisions:
76,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.bb
Internet hosts:
104 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
19 (2000)
Internet users:
160,000 (2005)
Transportation
Barbados
Airports:
1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 1,600 km
paved: 1,600 km (2004)
Merchant marine:
total: 85
by type: bulk carrier 15, cargo 50, chemical tanker 7, passenger 1,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 6, roll
on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 80 (Canada 9, Greece 12, India 1, Iran 2, Lebanon 1,
Norway 38, Sweden 7, Syria 1, UK 9)
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Bridgetown
Military
Barbados
Military branches:
Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard
(2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service (younger requires
parental consent); no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 75,265
females age 16-49: 75,389 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 58,556
females age 16-49: 58,143 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 2,157
female: 2,155 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.5% of GDP (2006 est.)
Military - note:
the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command
and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is to
defend the island against external aggression; the Command consists
of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre that is
deployed throughout the island; it increasingly supports the police
in patrolling the coastline to prevent smuggling and other illicit
activities (2007)
Transnational Issues
Barbados
Disputes - international:
Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent
Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and
limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive
economic zone; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's
claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits
Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion
of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs:
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for
Europe and the US; offshore financial center
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Belarus
Introduction
Belarus
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.
Geography
Belarus
Location:
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates:
53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries:
total: 3,306 km
border countries: Latvia 171 km, Lithuania 680 km, Poland 605 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:
1,310 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
58 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 2.79 cu km/yr (23%/47%/30%)
per capita: 286 cu m/yr (2000)
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, 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
Geography - note:
landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian
terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
People
Belarus
Population:
9,685,768 (July 2008 est.)
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.)
Median age:
total: 38.4 years
male: 35.4 years
female: 41.3 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.393% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
9.62 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
13.92 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.34 years
male: 64.63 years
female: 76.4 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.23 children born/woman (2008 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: 99.4% (1999 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
male: 14 years
female: 15 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
6.1% of GDP (2006)
Government
Belarus
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
Government type:
republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
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
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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
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
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
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; 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]
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)
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 (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
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
Economy
Belarus
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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$103.5 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$44.77 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$10,600 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 40.6%
services: 50.6% (2007 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%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
29.7 (2002)
Investment (gross fixed):
30.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $20.75 billion
expenditures: $20.87 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.4% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
10% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
8.58% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$4.065 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$6.823 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$12.16 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Industries:
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers,
motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles,
radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate:
5% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
29.91 billion kWh (2006 est.)
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 by source:
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.4% (2001)
Oil - production:
33,700 bbl/day (2007 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 - proved reserves:
198 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
164 million cu m (2007 est.)
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 - proved reserves:
2.832 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$2.876 billion (2007 est.)
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)
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)
Economic aid - recipient:
$53.76 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$4.266 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$7.347 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Currency (code):
Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code:
BYB/BYR
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)
Communications
Belarus
Telephones - main lines in use:
3.672 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
5.96 million (2006)
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)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios:
3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:
2.52 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.by
Internet hosts:
68,118 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
23 (2002)
Internet users:
6 million (2007)
Transportation
Belarus
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)
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)
Ports and terminals:
Mazyr
Military
Belarus
Military branches:
Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008)
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 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.)
Transnational Issues
Belarus
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: