Belarus

Republic of BelarusRespublika Byelarus'

republicIndependence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Belarus as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 81 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

Area207,600 sq km

LocationEastern Europe, east of Poland

Populationas each edition published it

10.44 million July 1995 est. · 10.37m in 1992

Population growth% a year

0.3% 1995 est. · 0.34% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 36.7 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

71.03 years 1995 est. · 70.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.87 children per woman 1995 est. · 2.1 in 1992

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

18.6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 20 in 1992

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$5,130 1994 est. · $5,890 in 1994

GDP real growth% a year

-20% 1994 · -13% in 1993

Geography

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

14 fields

Land useshare of 207,600 sq km

arable land 29%permanent crops 1%meadows and pastures 15%forest and woodland 0%other 55%irrigated 1,490 sq km (1990)

Area

207,600sq km

land area: 207,600 sq kmcomparative area: slightly smaller than Kansas

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

Map references

Commonwealth of Independent States - European States

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, small quantities of oil and natural gas

Environment

current issues:: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country 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 85, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection;
signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea

People

15 fields

Population

10,437,418

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

12.98Death

11.23Net migration

1.27

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years71.03

66.36 · 75.93

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy97%

99% · 96%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1989)

Ethnic divisions

Byelorussian 77.9%Russian 13.2%Polish 4.1%Ukrainian 2.9%other 1.9%

Labor force

4.887million

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

Age structure

0-14 years:: 22% (female 1,126,062; male 1,166,439)
15-64 years:: 65% (female 3,494,891; male 3,293,196)
65 years and over:: 13% (female 913,508; male 443,322) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

18.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Belarusian(s)
adjective:: Belarusian

Government

Republic; President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since July 1994)

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Names

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

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

Constitution

adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April 1978

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994);
election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14%
head of government:: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since July 1994);
Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN, Viktor GONCHAR, Sergey LING, Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH, Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA)
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 14 May 1995);
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

Political parties and leaders

Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), Zenon POZNYAK, chairman;
Party of Popular Accord, Gennadiy KARPENKO;
Union of Belarusian Entreprenuers, V. N. KARYAGIN;
Belarusian Party of Communists, Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen;
Belarus Peasant Party, Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman;
Belarusian Socialist Party, Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV, chairman;
Belarusian Social Democrat Party (SDBP), Oleg TRUSOV, Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairmen;
Agrarian Party of Belarus, Aleksandr DUBKO;
United Democratic Party of Belarus (UDPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY, chairman;
Independent Trade Unions, Sergey ANTONCHIK, chairman

CCC, CE (guest), CEI (associate members), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV
chancery:: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:: [1] (202) 986-1604

FAX

[1] (202) 986-1805; consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Kenneth Spencer YALOWITZ
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.

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GDP per capita, PPP

$5,130

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

-20%

(1994)industrial production growth: growth rate -19% (1994); accounts for about 40% of GDP (1992)

Inflation, consumer prices

29%per month

(1994)

Unemployment rate

1.4%

officially registered unemployed (December 1993); large numbers of underemployed workers

Installed generating capacity, 7,010,000 kW

Electricity production

31.4 billionElectricity consumption per capita

3,010 (1994)

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. The Belarusian government has lagged behind the governments of most other former Soviet states in economic reform, with privatization almost nonexistent.

The system of state orders and distribution persists. In mid-1994, the Belarusian government embarked on an austerity program with IMF support to slash state credits and consumer subsidies in order to bring down the budget deficit and reduce inflation. However, despite its promising start, the regime's drive to reinvigorate the economy has fallen short, and the IMF has criticized its failure to implement the reforms that the Fund had negotiated.

As a result, the IMF has suspended talks on introducing a stand-by arrangement. Economic relations with Russia, which will have an important bearing on the future course of the economy, will be strengthened if Minsk adopts the necessary legislation to implement a customs union agreed to in January 1995.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $53.4 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

Budget

revenues:: $NA
expenditures:: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports

$968 million to outside of the FSU countries (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities:: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
partners:: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria

Imports

$534 million from outside the FSU countries (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities:: fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar
partners:: Russia, Ukraine, Poland

External debt

$1.5 billion (July 1994 est.)

Industries

employ about 40% of labor force and produced 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

Economic aid

$NA

Currency

Belarusian rubel (BR)

Exchange rates

Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 10,600 (end December 1994)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 118 in all

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

1,524 to 2,437 m

under 914 m

1,524 to 2,438 m

914 to 1,523 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

98,200Railroads

5,570

Highways: paved: 66,100 km · unpaved: earth 32,100 km (1990) · Railroads: ; does not include industrial lines · broad gauge: 5,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Railroads

total:: 5,570 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:: 5,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways

total:: 98,200 km
paved:: 66,100 km
unpaved:: earth 32,100 km (1990)

Inland waterways

NA km

Pipelines

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

Ports

Mazyr

Merchant marine

note: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

1,849,000 telephones (December 1991);
18 telephones/100 persons;
telephone service inadequate for the purposes of either business or the population;
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

local:: NA
intercity:: NA
international:: international traffic is carried by the Moscow international gateway switch and also by 2 satellite earth stations near Minsk - INTELSAT (through Canada) and EUTELSAT (through the UK)

Radio

broadcast stations:: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0
radios:: 3.14 million (5,615,000 with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion)

Television

broadcast stations:: NA
televisions:: 3.538 million

Defense Forces

Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Republic 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 BELGIUM

Branches

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

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,550,500;
males fit for military service 1,999,138;
males reach military age (18) annually 71,808 (1995 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Belarus.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/belarus/1995.

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