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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

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: