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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Belarus Index
Interior of Cultural Institute metro station, Minsk
Courtesy Jim Doran
The series of events that led to Belarus's independence
began
with the explosion at the Chornobyl' nuclear power plant
on April
26, 1986. The foot-dragging of the government in Moscow in
even
announcing that the accident had occurred, let alone
evacuating
people from affected areas and providing funds for the
cleanup,
greatly angered the Belorussian people, most of whom had
no
political aspirations for independence.
In 1988 Zyanon Paznyak, an archagologist who would
later play
a role in national politics, revealed the discovery of
mass
graves of some 250,000 of Stalin's victims at Kurapaty.
Many
Belorussians were deeply shaken by this news, and some
demanded
accountability from the central authorities in Moscow.
Reformers
created the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) in October
after
several mass demonstrations and clashes with the
authorities.
Paznyak became the spokesman for the reform movement and
nationalist aspirations, and he emerged as the BPF
chairman.
The March 4, 1990, elections to the republic's Supreme
Soviet
gave the country a legislature that was little different
from
previous legislatures: only 10 percent of the deputies
were
members of the opposition. But for the most part, the
populace
seemed satisfied with the new deputies, and the BPF's
calls for
independence and efforts at nation-building failed to stir
up the
same strong emotions as movements in neighboring Ukraine
and the
Baltic republics. Although the Supreme Soviet of the
Belorussian
SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the
Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic on June 27, 1990
(some two
weeks after Russia had declared its own sovereignty), the
March
1991 referendum held throughout the Soviet Union showed
that 83
percent of Belorussians wanted to preserve the Soviet
Union.
Political change in Belarus came about only after the
August
1991 coup d'état in Moscow and a display of satisfaction
by the
Central Committee of the CPB at the coup attempt--it never
issued
a condemnation of the coup plotters. Following the coup's
collapse and declarations of independence by Estonia,
Latvia, and
Ukraine, Belarus declared its own independence on August
25 by
giving its declaration of sovereignty the status of a
constitutional document. On August 28, Belarus's prime
minister,
Vyachaslaw Kyebich, declared that he and his entire
cabinet had
"suspended" their CPB membership. The next day, both the
Russian
and the Belarusian governments suspended the activities of
the
communist party.
Liberals and nationalist reformers used this period of
political confusion to advance their cause. On September
18, the
parliament dismissed its chairman, Mikalay Dzyemyantsyey,
for
siding with the coup and replaced him with his deputy,
Stanislaw
Shushkyevich. The next day, pressed by the small but vocal
democratic opposition, the parliament changed the state's
name
from the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic to the
Republic of
Belarus. A new national flag (three horizontal stripes,
white-
red-white) was adopted, along with a new coat of arms (a
mounted
knight, St. George, Patron Saint of Belarus, with a drawn
sword,
the emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania). On December
8,
Belarus joined Russia and Ukraine in signing the Minsk
Agreement
(see Appendix C) to form the
CIS, which formally put an end to the Soviet Union. On December 21, Belarus signed the
Alma-Ata
Declaration
(see Appendix D), which expanded
the CIS membership from the original three signatories of the
Minsk Agreement to eleven states. And it was agreed that the headquarters of
the CIS
was to be in Minsk, a move that the government of Belarus
welcomed as a means of attracting foreign attention.
The democratic opposition in the Supreme Soviet, led by
the
twenty-seven-member BPF faction and some of its allies,
continued
pressing for a referendum on the dissolution of the
Supreme
Soviet and for new elections. The electorate seemed to be
responsive. More than 442,000 signatures in support of the
move
were collected within three months, but the initiators had
underestimated the conservativism of the Supreme Soviet.
Meeting in mid-October 1992 and encouraged by the
electoral
victory of former communists in Lithuania and growing
resistance
to President Boris N. Yeltsin's reforms in Russia, the
Supreme
Soviet solidly rejected the demand for a referendum.
Claiming
violations in the signature collection drive, 202 deputies
voted
against the referendum; only thirty-five deputies
supported it,
and another thirty-five abstained. In view of the fact
that in
May 1992 the Central Referendum Commission had validated
384,000
of the 442,000 signatures collected (exceeding the 350,000
signatures required by law), the BPF opposition accused
the
Supreme Soviet's conservative majority of an open
violation of
the republic's constitution and of an attempt to retain
power by
illegal means. Nonetheless, the opposition won a small
victory in
this tug-of-war: the parliament agreed to shorten its
five-year
term by one year and scheduled the next elections for the
spring
of 1994.
The Belarusian government headed by Prime Minister
Kyebich
consisted of former CPB functionaries and took a very
conservative approach to economic and political reforms.
Kyebich
himself characterized his policy as "traditional" and
warned
about taking "extreme" positions.
Belarus's conservative Supreme Soviet continued to put
obstacles in the path of reform. A privatization law was
finally
passed in July 1993, but it allowed collective and state
farms to
continue to exist and operate. Privatization of
state-owned
enterprises had barely begun in mid-1995, despite earlier
efforts
by Shushkyevich, who was largely a figurehead, to move
along
reform efforts. Conservative Kyebich, who actually
controlled the
ministries, was a temporary victor, when, in January 1994,
he
survived a no-confidence vote that ousted Shushkyevich and
replaced him with a Kyebich crony, Myechyslaw Hryb.
In the meantime, the Supreme Soviet adopted a
constitution
that went into effect on March 30, 1994, and created the
office
of president, who would now be the head of government
instead of
the prime minister. A quickly organized election was held
in
June, and a runoff election between the two highest
vote-getters
was held in July; in a surprise result, Kyebich was
soundly
beaten by anticorruption crusader Alyaksandr Lukashyenka.
Both
Kyebich and Lukashyenka took pro-Russian stands on
economic and
political matters, and both supported a quick monetary
union with
Russia. Lukashyenka even called for outright unification
with
Russia, but it was his anticorruption stance that won him
more
than 80 percent of the vote.
After Lukashyenka achieved his victory, the BPF granted
him a
three-month grace period during which it did not openly
criticize
his policies. Because his campaign promises had often been
vague,
he had great latitude within which to operate. And because
Kyebich resigned after the election, taking his government
with
him, there were no problems in removing ministers.
Lukashyenka's presidency was one of contradictions from
the
start. His cabinet was composed of young, talented
newcomers as
well as Kyebich veterans who had not fully supported
Kyebich. As
a reward to the parliament for confirming his appointees,
Lukashyenka supported the move to postpone the
parliamentary
elections until May 1995.
Lukashyenka's government was also plagued by corrupt
members.
Lukashyenka fired the minister of defense, the armed
forces chief
of staff, the head of the border guards, and the minister
of
forestry. Following resignations among reformists in
Lukashyenka's cabinet, parliamentary deputy Syarhey
Antonchyk
read a report in parliament on December 20, 1994, about
corruption in the administration. Although Lukashyenka
refused to
accept the resignations that followed, the government
attempted
to censor the report, fueling the opposition's criticism
of
Lukashyenka.
Lukashyenka went to Russia in August 1994 on his first
official visit abroad as head of state. There he came to
realize
that Russia would not make any unusual efforts to
accommodate
Belarus, especially its economic needs. Nevertheless,
Lukashyenka
kept trying; in February 1995, Belarus signed the Treaty
on
Friendship and Cooperation with Russia, making many
concessions
to Russia, such as allowing the stationing of Russian
troops in
Belarus, in hopes that Russia would return the favor by
charging
Belarus lower prices for fuels. However, because the
treaty
included no such provision, there was little hope of
realizing
this objective.
Lukashyenka had several disputes with parliament,
mainly over
the limits of presidential power (such as whether the
president
has the right to dissolve parliament). A hunger strike by
opposition deputies, led by Zyanon Paznyak, began on April
11,
1995, after Lukashyenka proposed four questions for a
referendum
and then stated that the referendum would be held
regardless of
parliament's vote. The protest ended when the striking
deputies,
forcibly evicted in the middle of the night during a
search for
an alleged bomb, found that the national television and
radio
building had been cordoned off as well because of another
alleged
bomb threat. After this incident, the parliament gave in
on a
number of matters, including the four referendum
questions,
because word of their strike now could not be publicized.
The parliamentary elections held in May 1995 were less
than
successful or democratic. The restrictions placed on the
mass
media and on the candidates' expenditures during the
campaign led
to a shortage of information about the candidates and
almost no
political debate before the elections. In several cases,
no one
candidate received the necessary majority of the votes in
the May
14 elections, prompting another round on May 28. The main
problem
in the second round was the lack of voter turnout. After
the
second round, parliament was in limbo because it had only
120
elected deputies--it was still short of the 174 members
necessary
to seat a new legislature. Another round of elections was
discussed, probably near the end of the year, but the
government
claimed to have no money to finance them.
Data as of June 1995
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.
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Location | | Eastern Europe, east of Poland
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Area(sq km) | | total: 207,600 sq km land: 202,900 sq km water: 4,700 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 53 00 N, 28 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 3,306 km border countries: Latvia 171 km, Lithuania 680 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
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Coastline(km) | | 0 km (landlocked)
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Climate | | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
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Natural resources | | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 1,310 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 58 cu km (1997)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 2.79 cu km/yr (23%/47%/30%) per capita: 286 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | NA
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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
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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
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Geography - note | | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
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Population | | 9,648,533 (July 2009 est.)
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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.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 38.6 years male: 35.6 years female: 41.6 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | -0.378% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 9.71 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 13.86 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 73% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | 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.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 70.63 years male: 64.95 years female: 76.67 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.24 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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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)
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Religions(%) | | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
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Languages(%) | | Belarusian, Russian, other
|
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Aleh HULAK]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; BPF-Youth [Franak VYACHORKA]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna ("Spring") human rights center; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Young Belarus (Malady Belarus); Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH]
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International organization participation | | BSEC (observer), CBSS (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)
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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
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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.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $114.3 billion (2008 est.) $103.9 billion (2007 est.) $96.06 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $60.3 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 10% (2008 est.) 8.2% (2007 est.) 9.9% (2006 est.)
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $11,800 (2008 est.) $10,700 (2007 est.) $9,800 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 8.5% industry: 41.2% services: 50.3% (2008 est.)
|
Labor force | | 4.869 million (2007)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 1.6% (2005) note: officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 27.1% (2003 est.)
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 22% (2005)
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 27.9 (2005) 21.7 (1998)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 31.9% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $25.15 billion expenditures: $25.97 billion (2008 est.)
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 14.8% (2008 est.) 8.4% (2007 est.)
|
Stock of money | | $4.872 billion (31 December 2008) $4.065 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $8.784 billion (31 December 2008) $6.823 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $18.42 billion (31 December 2008) $12.16 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
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Economic aid - recipient | | $53.76 million (2005)
|
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(%) | | 12% (2008 est.)
|
Current account balance | | -$5.063 billion (2008 est.) -$3.042 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports | | $33.04 billion (2008 est.) $24.33 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
|
Exports - partners(%) | | Russia 32.2%, Netherlands 16.9%, Ukraine 8.5%, Latvia 6.6%, Poland 5.5%, UK 4.4% (2008)
|
Imports | | $39.16 billion (2008 est.) $28.4 billion (2007 est.)
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
|
Imports - partners(%) | | Russia 59.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 5.4% (2008)
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $2.687 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $3.952 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Debt - external | | $15.15 billion (31 December 2008) $12.49 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Exchange rates | | Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar - 2,130 (2008 est.), 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004)
|
Currency (code) | | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
|
Telephones - main lines in use | | 3.718 million (2008)
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 8.693 million (2008)
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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 90 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 (2008)
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Internet country code | | .by
|
Internet users | | 3.107 million (2008)
|
Airports | | 65 (2009)
|
Pipelines(km) | | gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2008)
|
Roadways(km) | | total: 94,797 km paved: 84,028 km unpaved: 10,769 km (2005)
|
Ports and terminals | | Mazyr
|
Military branches | | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2009)
|
Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 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: 1,720,049 females age 16-49: 2,069,898 (2009 est.)
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 60,009 female: 56,834 (2009 est.)
|
Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
|
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
|
Electricity - production(kWh) | | 29.92 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 99.5% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001)
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 30.54 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 5.062 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 9.406 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 32,950 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 184,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 303,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 444,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 198 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
|
Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 152 million cu m (2008 est.)
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 21.75 billion cu m (2008 est.)
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 2.832 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.2% (2007 est.)
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 13,000 (2007 est.)
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 1,100 (2007 est.)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 15 years male: 14 years female: 15 years (2006)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 6.1% of GDP (2006)
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