Belarus

republicIndependence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Belarus as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 122 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalMinsk
LocationEastern Europe, between Poland and Russia
1994

Every edition of Belarus

Populationas each edition published it
10.4 million July 1994 est. · 10.37m in 1992
Population growth% a year
0.32% 1994 est. · 0.34% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 36.7 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 70.73 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.88 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.1 in 1992
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
18.9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 20 in 1992
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$5,890 1993 est. · $29,000 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
-9% 1993 est. · -13% in 1993

Geography

Eastern Europe, between Poland and Russia

22 fields
Coastline
0km
(landlocked)Maritime claims: none; landlocked
Land boundaries
3,098km
total · Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Irrigated land
1,490sq km
(1990)

Location

Eastern Europe, between Poland and Russia

Map references

Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - European States, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

207,600 sq km

land area

207,600 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than Kansas

Climate

cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain

generally flat and contains much marshland

Natural resources

forest land, peat deposits

arable land

29%

permanent crops

1%

meadows and pastures

15%

forest and woodland

0%

other

55%

current issues

soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of Belarus contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl'

natural hazards

NA

international agreements

  • party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection;
  • signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note

landlocked

People

21 fields
Population
10,404,862
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.32% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
13.12Death
11.16Net migration
1.27

Ethnic divisions

Byelorussian 77.9%Russian 13.2%Polish 4.1%Ukrainian 2.9%other 1.9%
Labor force
4.887million
Literacy
9
age · -49 can read and write (1979)

Infant mortality rate

18.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

70.88 years

male

66.2 years

female

75.79 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.88 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Belarusian(s)

adjective

Belarusian

Religions

Eastern Orthodox, other

Languages

Byelorussian, Russian, other

total population

100%

male

100%

female

100%

by occupation

industry and construction 40%, agriculture and forestry 21%, other 39% (1992)

Government

Republic

33 fields

conventional long form

Republic of Belarus

conventional short form

Belarus

local long form

Respublika Byelarus'

local short form

none

former

Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Type

republic

Capital

Minsk

Administrative divisions

  • 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

the administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in parentheses

Independence

25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 July (1990)

Constitution

adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April 1978

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

chief of state

  • President-elect Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (elected 10 July 1994, but not yet inaugurated) election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA);
  • Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14%

head of government

Prime Minister Vyacheslav F. KEBICH (since NA April 1990; offered his resignation on the election of LUCHASHENKO), First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH (since NA 1991)

cabinet

Council of Ministers

note

first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

Supreme Soviet

  • elections last held 4 April 1990 (next to be held NA);
  • results - Communists 87%;
  • seats - (360 total) number of seats by party NA;
  • note - 50 seats are for public bodies;
  • the Communist Party obtained an overwhelming majority

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

  • Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), Zenon PAZNYAK, chairman;
  • United Democratic Party of Belarus (UDPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY, chairman;
  • Social Democratic Party of Belarus (SDBP), Mikhail TKACHEV, chairman;
  • Belarus Workers Union, Mikhail SOBOL, Chairman;
  • Belarus Peasants Party;
  • Party of People's Unity, Gennadiy KARPENKO;
  • Movement for Democracy, Social Progress, and Justice (DSPS; includes the Communist Party), Viktor CHIKIN, chairman

Member of

CBSS (observer), CE (guest), CEI (participating), CIS, CSCE, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission

Ambassador Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV

chancery

1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone

(202) 986-1604

FAX

(202) 986-1805)

chief of mission

(vacant); Charge d'Affaires George KROL

embassy

Starovilenskaya #46, Minsk

mailing address

use embassy street address

telephone

7-0172-34-65-37

Flag

three horizontal bands of white (top), red, and white

Economy

Belarus ranks among the most developed of the former Soviet states, | with a relatively modern - by Soviet standards - and diverse machine | building sector and a robust agriculture sector.

27 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$5,890
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
-9%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate -11% (1993); accounts for about 40% of GDP (1992)
Inflation, consumer prices
30%per month
(1993)
Unemployment rate
1.4%
officially registered unemployed (December 1993); large numbers of underemployed workers

Overview

Belarus ranks among the most developed of the former Soviet states, with a relatively modern - by Soviet standards - and diverse machine building sector and a robust agriculture sector. It also serves as a transport link for Russian oil exports to the Baltic states and Eastern and Western Europe.

The breakup of the Soviet Union and its command economy has resulted in a sharp economic contraction as traditional trade ties have collapsed. At the same time, the Belarusian Government has lagged behind most other former Soviet states in economic reform; privatization has barely begun;

the agriculture sector remains highly subsidized; the state retains control over many prices; and the system of state orders and distribution persists. Meanwhile, the national bank continues to pour credits into inefficient enterprises, fueling inflation and weakening incentives to improve performance.

The government is pinning its hopes on reintegration with the Russian economy, but such a path would only partially restore traditional trade ties. Until economic reform is embraced, Belarus will continue in its economic morass.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $61 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Belarusian statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)

revenues

$NA

expenditures

$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports

$710 million to outside of the FSU countries (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs

partners

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria

Imports

$743 million from outside the FSU countries (c.i.f., 1993)

commodities

fuel, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar

partners

Russia, Ukraine, Poland

capacity

8,025,000 kW

production

37.6 billion kWh

consumption per capita

3,626 kWh (1992)

Industries

  • employ about 40% of labor force and produce a wide variety of products including (in percent share of total output of former Soviet Union): tractors (12%);
  • metal-cutting machine tools (11%);
  • off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity (100%);
  • wheel-type earthmovers for construction and mining (100%);
  • eight-wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas (100%);
  • equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding (25%);
  • motorcycles (21.3%);
  • television sets (11%);
  • chemical fibers (28%);
  • fertilizer (18%);
  • linen fabric (11%);
  • wool fabric (7%);
  • radios;
  • refrigerators;
  • and other consumer goods

Agriculture

  • accounts for almost 25% of GDP and 5.7% of total agricultural output of former Soviet Union;
  • employs 21% of the labor force;
  • in 1988 produced the following (in percent of total Soviet production): grain (3.6%), potatoes (12.2%), vegetables (3.0%), meat (6.0%), milk (7.0%);
  • net exporter of meat, milk, eggs, flour, potatoes

Illicit drugs

  • illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis;
  • mostly for the domestic market;
  • transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Currency

Belarusian rubel

note

the government signed a framework agreement with Russia for a monetary union in January 1994, but a schedule and mechanism for merging the two monetary systems and replacing Belarusian rubels with Russian rubles have not been worked out

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

16 fields

Railroads

5,570 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)

total

98,200 km

paved

66,100 km

unpaved

earth 32,100 km (1990)

Pipelines

crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)

Ports

none; landlocked

Merchant marine

claims 5% of former Soviet fleet

total

124

usable

55

with permanent-surface runways

31

with runways over 3,659 m

1

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

28

with runways 1,060-2,439 m

20

note

a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Telecommunications

  • telephone service in Belarus is inadequate for the purposes of either business or the population;
  • total number of telephones 1,849,000 (31 December 1991);
  • telephone density - 18 for each 100 persons;
  • about 70% of the telephones are in homes;
  • over 750,000 applications from households for telephones remain unsatisfied (1992);
  • new investment centers on international connections and business needs;
  • the new BelCel NMT 450 cellular system (a joint venture) is now operating in Minsk but progress has been slower in establishing an INTELSAT earth station;
  • international traffic still relies on the Moscow international gateway switch;
  • broadcast receivers - television 3,538,000, radio 3,140,000, radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion 5,615,000

Defense Forces

Army, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and | border troops)

3 fields
Defense expenditures
56.5billion rubles
NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Branches

Army, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 2,520,487;
  • fit for military service 1,981,749;
  • reach military age (18) annually 71,922 (1994 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Belarus.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/belarus/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →