cultivation and related activities. However, in recent years the
economy has diversified into light industry and tourism with about
three-quarters of GDP and 80% of exports being attributed to
services. Growth has rebounded since 2003, bolstered by increases in
construction projects and tourism revenues, reflecting its success
in the higher-end segment, but the sector will likely face declining
revenues with the global economic downturn. The country enjoys one
of the highest per capita incomes in the region. Offshore finance
and information services are important foreign exchange earners and
thrive from having the same time zone as eastern US financial
centers and a relatively highly educated workforce. The government
continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct
foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned
enterprises. The public debt-to-GDP ratio of about 80% will likely
widen as the THOMPSON administration engages in a more expansionary
fiscal policy.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$5.367 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
$5.329 billion (2007 est.)
$5.159 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$3.67 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
0.7% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 187
3.3% (2007 est.)
3.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$18,900 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 66
$18,900 (2007 est.)
$18,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16%
services: 78% (2000 est.)
Labor force:
175,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10%
industry: 15%
services: 75% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate:
10.7% (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million (2000 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.5% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
Central bank discount rate:
10% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 24
12% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
10.03% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 77
10.8% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$1.637 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 75
$1.478 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$3.701 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 77
$2.717 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$4.554 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 82
$3.533 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 85
$5.599 billion (31 December 2007)
$4.954 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, vegetables, cotton
Industries:
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Industrial production growth rate:
-3.2% (2000 est.)
country comparison to the world: 162
Electricity - production:
1.003 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146
Electricity - consumption:
939.9 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 147
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
1,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
Oil - consumption:
9,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
Oil - exports:
1,750 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
Oil - imports:
10,390 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 139
Oil - proved reserves:
2.17 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 94
Natural gas - production:
29.17 million cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
Natural gas - consumption:
29.17 million cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008)
country comparison to the world: 201
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200
Natural gas - proved reserves:
141.6 million cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
Current account balance:
-$254 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 94
Exports:
$385 million (2006)
country comparison to the world: 168
Exports - commodities:
manufactures, sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages,
chemicals, electrical components
Exports - partners:
Trinidad and Tobago 15.6%, Jamaica 13.9%, Brazil 9.9%, US 8.7%, UK
7.8%, Saint Lucia 7.3%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.5% (2008)
Imports:
$1.586 billion (2006)
country comparison to the world: 158
Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials,
chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Imports - partners:
US 27.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 25.6%, Russia 7.1%, Colombia 6.4%,
Germany 4.1% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$620 million (2007)
country comparison to the world: 135
$620 million (2007)
Debt - external:
$668 million (2003)
country comparison to the world: 159
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:
150,000 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 132
Telephones - mobile cellular:
406,000 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 160
Telephone system:
general assessment: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100
persons; mobile-cellular telephone density approaching 150 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
(2008)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus 2 cable channels) (2004)
Internet country code:
.bb
Internet hosts:
235 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 185
Internet users:
188,000 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 139
Transportation ::Barbados
Airports:
1 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 212
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2009)
Roadways:
total: 1,600 km
country comparison to the world: 176
paved: 1,600 km (2004)
Merchant marine:
total: 85
country comparison to the world: 53
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
(2009)
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: 58,596
females age 16-49: 58,866 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 2,015
female: 2,007 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.5% of GDP (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159
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
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@Belarus (Europe)
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, Aleksandr
LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian
means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press,
peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.
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
country comparison to the world: 85
land: 202,900 sq km
water: 4,700 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:
9,648,533 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.3% (male 707,550/female 667,560)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 3,337,253/female 3,540,916)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 446,746/female 948,508) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 38.6 years
male: 35.6 years
female: 41.6 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.378% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 224
Birth rate:
9.71 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 199
Death rate:
13.86 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
Net migration rate:
0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
Urbanization:
urban population: 73% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change (2005-10 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: 0.47 male(s)/female
total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 177
male: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.63 years
country comparison to the world: 141
male: 64.95 years
female: 76.67 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.24 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 213
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
13,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,100 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
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)
country comparison to the world: 39
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 the 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 and 3
October 2008 (next to be held fall of 2012); international observers
determined that despite minor improvements the election ultimately
fell short of democratic standards; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won
every seat
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];
Communist Party of Belarus or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement
(Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman];
Liberal Democratic Party [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Republican 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 [Levon BARSHCHEVSKIY]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada
[Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada
(People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Anatoliy LEVKOVICH]; European
Coalition [Nikolay STATKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of
Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United
Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party Hope (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]; BPF-Youth [Franak VYACHORKA]; Charter
97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom [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]; Young Belarus (Malady Belarus) [Artur FINKEVICH];
Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH]; 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 (vacant); Charge D'Affaires Oleg
KRAVCHENKO
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 through 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; the red band color
recalls past struggles from oppression, the green band represents
hope and the many forests of the country
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, government statistics indicate GDP growth has been
strong in recent years, reaching 10% in 2008, despite the roadblocks
of a tough, centrally directed economy with a high rate of
inflation. Belarus receives 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 2007-08, 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% was slated to go to Russia in 2008, and 85%
in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from
$47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm)in 2006 to $100 per tcm in 2007,
and to $128 per tcm in 2008, 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 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.
Belarus felt the effects of the global financial crisis in late 2008
and reached agreement with Russia in November for a $2 billion
stabilization loan and with the IMF for a $2.5 billion stand-by
agreement in January 2009. In line with IMF conditionality, Belarus
devalued the ruble approximately 20% in January 2009 and has
tightened some fiscal and monetary policies. Belarus's economic
growth is likely to slow in 2009 as it faces decreasing demand for
its exports, and will find it difficult to increase external
borrowing if the credit markets continue to tighten.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$114.3 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
$103.9 billion (2007 est.)
$96.06 billion (2006 est.)