Belarus

total:

4.34 cu km/yr (32%/65%/3%)

per capita:

435.4 cu m/yr (2009)

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

noun:

Belarusian(s)

adjective:

Belarusian

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.46 male(s)/female

total population:

0.87 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

total number:

54,218

percentage:

5 % (2005 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Belarus

conventional short form:

Belarus

local long form:

Respublika Byelarus'/Respublika Belarus'

local short form:

Byelarus'/Belarus'

former:

Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Minsk

geographic coordinates:

53 54 N, 27 34 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad);
• Brest, Homyel' (Gomel), Horad Minsk* (Minsk City), Hrodna (Grodno), Mahilyow (Mogilev), Minsk, Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk)

note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers; Russian spelling provided for reference when different from Belarusian

• several previous;
• latest drafted between late 1991 and early 1994, signed 15 March 1994;
• amended 1996, 2004 (2013)

chief of state:

• president Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994);
• note - the US does not recognize the results of the 19 December 2010 elections under which the Central Election Commission of Belarus declared LUKASHENKO president

head of government:

prime minister Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH (since 28 December 2010); first deputy prime minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• first election took place on 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 on 9 September 2001;
• an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run in a third (19 March 2006) and fourth election (19 December 2010);
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:

• Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president;
• percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 79.7%, Andrey SANNIKOV 2.6%, other candidates 17.7%;
• note - election marred by electoral fraud

• bicameral national assembly or natsionalnoye sobraniye consists of the Council of the Republic or Sovet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional and Minsk city councils and 8 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);
• note - the US does not recognize the legitimacy of the national assembly

elections:

• Palata Predstaviteley - last held on 23 September 2012 (next to be held September 2016);
• OSCE observers determined that the election was neither free nor impartial and that vote counting was problematic in a number of polling stations;
• pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat with no opposition representation in the chamber;
• international observers determined that the previous election, on 28 September 2008, despite minor improvements also fell short of democratic standards, with pro-LUKASHENKO candidates winning every seat

election results:

• Sovet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - NA;
• Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - KPB 3, AP 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, no affiliation 105

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, deputy chairman, and NA judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 judges including a chairman and deputy chairman)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Council of the Republic;
• judges initially appointed for 5 years and evaluated for life appointment;
• Constitutional Court judges - 6 appointed by the president and 6 elected by the Chamber of Representatives;
• term of judges is 11 years with an age limit of 70

subordinate courts:

regional, district, city, town, and military courts

• Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH] (unregistered)
• Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]
• Belarusian Association of Journalists [Zhana LITVINA]
• Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Aleh HULAK]
• Belarusian Independence Bloc (unregistered) and For Freedom movement [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]
• Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]
• BPF-Youth [Andrus KRECHKA] (unregistered)
• Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV] (unregistered)
• Perspektiva small business association [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]
• Nasha Vyasna ("Our Spring") human rights center [Ales BYALYATSKI] (unregistered)
• "Tell the Truth" Movement [Vladimir NEKLYAYEV] (unregistered)
• Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]
• Young Belarus (Malady Belarus) [Zmitser KASPYAROVICH] (unregistered)
• Youth Front (Malady Front) [Zmitser DASHKEVICH] (unregistered)

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Oleg KRAVCHENKO

chancery:

1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 986-1604

FAX:

[1] (202) 986-1805

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ethan GOLDRICH (since July 2012)

embassy:

46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002

mailing address:

PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723

telephone:

[375] (17) 210-12-83

FAX:

[375] (17) 234-7853

• 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

agriculture:

9.4%

industry:

45.9%

services:

44.7% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.8%

highest 10%:

21.9% (2008)

general assessment:

• Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure;
• modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital

domestic:

• state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service;
• fixed-line teledensity is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved;
• multiple GSM mobile-cellular networks are experiencing rapid growth;
• mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 telephones per 100 persons

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)

• 4 state-controlled national TV channels;
• Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas;
• state-run Belarusian Radio operates 3 national networks and an external service;
• Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2007)

total:

5,537 km

country comparison to the world: 32

broad gauge:

5,512 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)

standard gauge:

25 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

86,392 km

country comparison to the world: 54

paved:

74,651 km

unpaved:

11,741 km (2010)

• 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service;
• conscript service obligation is 12-18 months, depending on academic qualifications;
• 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2012)

males age 16-49:

2,401,785

females age 16-49:

2,429,653 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,693,626

females age 16-49:

2,012,401 (2010 est.)

male:

51,855

female:

48,760 (2010 est.)

• boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania;
• as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland has implemented strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its border with Belarus

current situation:

• Belarus is a source, transit, and destination country for women, men, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• women and children are trafficked to European and Middle Eastern countries and within Belarus for sexual exploitation;
• Belarusian men, women, and children are found in forced labor in the construction industry and other sectors in Russia and Belarus;
• Belarusian men seeking work abroad are increasingly subjected to forced labor

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Belarus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government demonstrates decreased law enforcement efforts, conducting fewer trafficking investigations and convicting only one trafficking offender;
• while two new anti-trafficking laws were passed, they have not been fully implemented and government services to victims remain very limited;
• the government continues its efforts to prevent trafficking through public awareness campaigns and NGO-operated anti-trafficking hotlines (2013)

• limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market;
• transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe;
• a small and lightly regulated financial center;
• anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards and was weakened further when know-your-customer requirements were curtailed in 2008;
• few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities (2008)