Belarus
Republic of BelarusRespublika Byelarus'
republicIndependence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Belarus as the 1998 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 100 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Geography
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
18 fieldsLand useshare of 207,600 sq km
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-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 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1998 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 20% (male 1,062,012; female 1,018,154)
- 15-64 years:
- 67% (male 3,365,065; female 3,564,078)
- 65 years and over:
- 13% (male 460,633; female 939,108) (July 1998 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.94 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.49 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Religions
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Government
Republic; President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18 November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997)
21 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 260 seats, elected May and November-December 1995one dot, one seat
Country name
- 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: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18 November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997);
- First Deputy Prime Minister Petr PRAKAPOVICH (since 23 December 1996);
- Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN (since 21 July 1994), Valeriy KOKAREV (since 23 August 1994), Vasiliy DOLGOLEV (since 30 October 1995), Vladimir ZAMETALIN (since 15 July 1997)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers
- elections:
- president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
- election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 2001 because of the additional two years provided by the November 1996 referendum);
- prime minister appointed by the president
- election results:
- Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote-Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%
note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie established by the 27 November Constitution consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Republiki (64 seats; 8 appointed by the president and 56 indirectly elected by deputies of local councils for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; note-present members came from the defunct Supreme Soviet)
- elections:
- last held May and November-December 1995 (two rounds, each with a run-off; next to be held NA 2000)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party-NA;
- seats by party-KPB 42, Agrarian 33, CAB 9, Party of People's Concord 8, UPNAZ 2, SDPB 2, BPR 1, Green Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, BSP 1, BNF 1, Social and Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, independents 95, vacant 62;
- note-the last election took place to fill seats in the former Supreme Soviet (260 seats);
- after the November 1996 referendum, seats for the Chamber of Representatives were filled by former Supreme
Soviet members as follows
- PKB 24, Agrarian 14, Party of Peoples Concord 5, LDPB 1, UPNAZ 1, Green World Party 1, Belarusian Social Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, independents 61;
- 58 of the 64 seats in the Council of the Republic have been appointed/elected
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
- Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN];
- Agrarian Party [Aleksandr PAVLOV, chairman];
- Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman];
- Party of People's Concord [Leonid SECHKO, chairman];
- Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord or UPNAZ [Dmitriy BULAKOV, chairman];
- Belarusian Social-Democrat Hramada or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman];
- Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH];
- Green Party of Belarus or BPZ [Nikolay KARTASH, chairman];
- Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatol NETYLKIN, chairman];
- Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Levon BARSHEVSKIY, chairman];
- Belarusian Social Sports Party or BSSP [Aleksandr ALEKSANDROVICH, chairman];
- Ecological Party or BEP [Liudmila YELIZAROVA, chairman];
- United Democratic Party of Belarus or ADPB [Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY];
- Slavic Assembly or SAB [Andrey TSEGALKA];
- Liberal-Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman];
- Belarusian Christian-Democratic Unity or BKDZ [Petr SILKO];
- Polish Democratic Union or PDZ [Eduard AKHREM];
- Party of Beer Lovers [Yuriy GONCHAR];
- Party of Communists Belarusian or KPB [Sergei KALYAKIN and Vasiliy NOVIKOV, chairmen];
- Belarusian Labor Party or BPP [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV]
International organization participation
BIS, CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPKALO
- chancery:
- 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 986-1604
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Daniel SPECKHARD
- embassy:
- Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk
- mailing address:
- use embassy street address
- telephone:
- [375] (172) 31-50-00
Flag description
- red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band;
- a white vertical stripe of white on the hoist side bears in red the Belarusian national ornament
Economy
The Belarusian government has revived economic | output since mid-1996 by pursuing a policy of rapid credit expansion, | ending years of cumulative decline.
28 fieldsGDP-composition by sector(1997 est.)
Economy-overview
The Belarusian government has revived economic output since mid-1996 by pursuing a policy of rapid credit expansion, ending years of cumulative decline. Real GDP increased by 2.6% in 1996 and the growth rate tripled in 1997. Lack of profitability and resurgent inflation-which increased from an average monthly rate of 2.8% in 1996 to 4.4% in 1997-however, have kept enterprises from making much needed capital investments.
As a result, infrastructure and equipment stocks have continued to deteriorate. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." Privatization of enterprises controlled by the central government virtually ceased in 1996.
As of May 1997, only about 10% of all enterprises under central government control had been privatized. In addition, LUKASHENKO has re-imposed administrative control over prices and the national currency's exchange rate, and expanded the state's right to intervene arbitrarily in the management of private enterprise.
Lack of structural reform, and a climate hostile to business, have inhibited foreign investment in Belarus in 1995-97. In 1995 Belarus ranked second to last among the 15 former Soviet republics in terms of the average amount of foreign investment it attracted per capita. Although it moved up to 11th place in 1996, this was largely due to inflows from Russia related to the construction of the Yamal natural gas pipeline.
Belarus's trade deficit has grown steadily over the past three years - from 8% of total trade turnover in 1995 to 14% in the first quarter of 1997 - despite the government's efforts to promote exports and limit imports. Given Belarus's limited fiscal reserve, a continued growth in the trade deficit will increase vulnerability to a balance of payments crisis.
Labor force
- total:
- 4.3 million
- by occupation:
- industry and construction 40%, agriculture and forestry 19%, services 41% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate
3.3% officially registered unemployed (July 1997); large numbers of underemployed workers
Industries
tractors, metal-cutting machine tools, off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity, wheel-type earth movers for construction and mining, eight-wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas, equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, linen fabric, wool fabric, radios, refrigerators, other consumer goods
Exports
- total value:
- $5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
- commodities:
- machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
- partners:
- Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany
Imports
- total value:
- $6.7 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
- commodities:
- fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar
- partners:
- Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $186 million (1993) note: commitments, $3,930 million ($1,845 million disbursements), 1992-95
Exchange rates
Belarusian rubels per US$1-31,030 (19 January 1998 official Belarusian exchange rate), 28,800 (October 1997 end of period),15,500 (yearend 1996), 11,500 (yearend 1995), 10,600 (yearend 1994), 699 (yearend 1993)
Telephone system
- 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 est.);
- new investment centers on international connections and business needs
- domestic:
- the new NMT-450 analog cellular system is now operating in Minsk
- international:
- international traffic is carried by the Moscow international gateway switch and also by satellite;
- satellite earth stations-1 Intelsat (through Canada) and 1 Eutelsat (through the UK)
Television broadcast stations
2 (one national and one private; the license of the private station was suspended during the parliamentary elections of 1994)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Military
Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior | Ministry Troops, Border Guards
7 fieldsMilitary expenditures-dollar figure
4.5 trillion rubles (1997 est.); note-conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit drugs
limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia and Western Europe BELGIUM
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Belarus.” The World Factbook 1998. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/belarus/1998.