Cambodia (2002) | Belarus (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities* (krong, singular and plural); Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Keb*, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pailin*, Phnum Penh*, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu* (Sihanoukville), Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.7% (male 2,646,883; female 2,550,015)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 3,373,692; female 3,758,736) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 182,149; female 263,849) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 20 (2001) | 133 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16 15
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 2 1 (2002) |
total: 83
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oklahoma | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces. | After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. |
Birth rate | 32.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $363 million
expenditures: $532 million, including capital expenditures of $225 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Phnom Penh | Minsk |
Climate | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 443 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | promulgated 21 September 1993 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea local short form: Kampuchea former: Khmer Republic, Kampuchea Republic |
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 |
Currency | riel (KHR) | - |
Death rate | 10.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $829 million (1999 est.) | $600 million (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles Aaron RAY
embassy: 16, Street 228 (between streets 51 and 63), Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 216-436 FAX: [855] (23) 216-437 |
chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador ROLAND ENG
chancery: 4500 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742 FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381 |
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 |
Disputes - international | demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion; accuses Thailand of moving or destroying boundary markers and encroachment, of not respecting its claims, and of sealing off access to the Preah Vihear temple ruin awarded to Cambodia by the ICJ in 1962; accuses Vietnam of territorial encroachments and initiating armed border incidents in seven provinces, despite substantial demarcation efforts to date; disputes several offshore islands with Vietnam, which prevents delimitation of a maritime boundary | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004 |
Economic aid - recipient | $548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by international donors | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-98 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms and growth resumed at 5%. GDP growth for 2000 had been projected to reach 5.5%, but the worst flooding in 70 years severely damaged agricultural crops, and high oil prices hurt industrial production, and growth for the year is estimated at only 4%. In 2001, severe floods damaged an estimated 15% of the area devoted to rice. Tourism now is Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34% in 2000 and up another 40% in 2001 before the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid. On the brighter side, the government is addressing these issues with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. | Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still, the economy continues to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy and the high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods. |
Electricity - consumption | 122.76 million kWh (2000) | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 800 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 132 million kWh (2000) | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 62%
hydro: 38% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998 | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
Exchange rates | riels per US dollar - 3,895.0 (January 2002), 3,918.5 (2001), 3,840.8 (2000), 3,807.8 (1999), 3,744.4 (1998), 2,946.3 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 September 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 30 November 1998) and Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since NA) and TOL LAH (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition is named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and apppointed by the king |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (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 LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4% |
Exports | $1.05 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
Exports - commodities | timber, garments, rubber, rice, fish | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | US 46.4%, Vietnam 26.1%, Germany 5.6%, Singapore 5.0%, UK 3.9% (2000) | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band | 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 ornamention in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 50%
industry: 15% services: 35% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2001 est.) | 6.4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 105 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 35,769 km
paved: 4,165 km unpaved: 31,604 km (1997) |
total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 34% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for the international market; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based economy and porous borders | 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; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities |
Imports | $1.4 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | Singapore 22.5%, Thailand 19.8%, Hong Kong 15.6%, China 4.9%, Vietnam 4.9% (2000) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) |
Independence | 9 November 1953 (from France) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 13.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (2000 est.) | 17.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,700 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority | 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) |
Labor force | 6 million (1998 est.) | 4.305 million (31 December 2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (2001 est.) | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.96%
permanent crops: 0.61% other: 78.43% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
Languages | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law in recent years | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral consists of the National Assembly (122 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies"; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA July 2003); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 41%, FUNCINPEC 32%, SRP 14%, other 13%; seats by party - CPP 64, FUNCINPEC 43, SRP 15; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7, other 2 |
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 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.1 years
male: 54.81 years female: 59.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.72 years
male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 404 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,889,404 GRT/2,740,232 DWT
ships by type: bulk 37, cargo 312, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 5, container 7, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Aruba 1, Belize 8, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 3, China 21, Cyprus 15, Denmark 1, Egypt 7, Estonia 1, Georgia 1, Germany 1, Greece 12, Honduras 5, Hong Kong 12, Iceland 1, Indonesia 2, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Italy 1, Japan 5, Jordan 1, Latvia 2, Lebanon 5, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Panama 7, Romania 4, Russia 67, Saint Kitts and Nevis 10, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4, Singapore 15, South Korea 24, Syria 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 22, Ukraine 13, United Arab Emirates 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vietnam 2, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF): Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $112 million (FY01 est.) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3% (FY01 est.) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,990,790 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,673,713 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 162,643 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) | 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 |
Nationality | noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts | NA |
Natural resources | timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Buddhist Liberal Party or BLP [IENG MOULY]; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party or CPP [CHEA SIM]; Khmer Citizen Party or KCP [NGUON SOEUR]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP (formerly Khmer Nation Party or KNP) [SAM RANGSI] | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party [leader NA]; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 12,775,324
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36% (1997 est.) | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.24% (2002 est.) | -0.09% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1999) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 1.34 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 603 km
narrow gauge: 603 km 1.000-m gauge (2001 est.) |
total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004) |
Religions | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; rural areas have little telephone service
domestic: NA international: adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational 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); three 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,800 (mid-1998) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 80,000 (2000) | 1.118 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 4.66 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.8% (1999 est.) | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) |
Waterways | 3,700 km
note: navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m |
2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |