##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Colombia (2002) - Belarus (2002)
Compare Colombia (2002) z Belarus (2002)
| Colombia (2002) | Belarus (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada | 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 - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 6,552,961; female 6,399,666)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 12,694,293; female 13,375,425) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 886,921; female 1,098,961) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 1,066 (2001) | 136 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 96
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 954
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 315 under 914 m: 587 (2002) |
total: 103
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2002) |
| Area | total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km water: 100,210 sq km note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to be several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and illicit industries such as the drug trade and the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota continues to try to negotiate a settlement, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 21.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $25.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Bogota | Minsk |
| Climate | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 5 July 1991 | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia |
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 | Colombian peso (COP) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $39 billion (2001 est.) | $770 million (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Anne W. PATTERSON
embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831 mailing address: Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO AA 34038 telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811 FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC consulate(s): Atlanta |
chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO
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 | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian drug activities penetrate Peruvian border area | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $194.3 million (1995) (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Colombia's economy suffered from weak domestic demand, austere government budgets, and a difficult security situation. A new president takes office in 2002 and will face economic challenges ranging from pension reform to reduction of unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed. Problems in public security are a concern for Colombian business leaders, who are calling for progress in the government's peace negotiations with insurgent groups. Colombia is looking for continued support from the international community to boost economic and peace prospects. | 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 enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, 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. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
| Electricity - consumption | 40.348 billion kWh (2000) | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 37 million kWh (2000) | 300 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 77 million kWh (2000) | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 43.342 billion kWh (2000) | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 26%
hydro: 73% nuclear: 0% other: 1% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions | 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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 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 | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,275.89 (January 2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.90 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999), 1,426.04 (1998), 1,140.96 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents elections: president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez received 53% of the vote; Vice President Francisco SANTOS was elected on the same ticket |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001) 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 (next election to be held by 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 | $12.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals |
| Exports - partners | US 43%, Andean Community of Nations 22%, EU 14%, (2001 est.) | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center | 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 the Belarusian national ornament in red |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $255 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19%
industry: 26% services: 55% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 4.1% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 72 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea | 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 | 1 (2002) | - |
| Highways | total: 110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
total: 98,200 km
paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1999) (1999) |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2001 was 169,800 hectares, a 25% increase over 2000); potential production of opium between 2000 and 2001 increased by 33% to 40 metric tons; potential production of heroin increased to 4.3 metric tons; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Columbia through the black market peso exchange | 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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations |
| Imports | $12.7 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | US 35%, EU 16%, Andean Community of Nations 15%, Japan 5% (2001 est.) | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) |
| Independence | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 23.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.6% (2001) (2001) | 46.1% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 18 (2000) | 23 (2002) |
| Irrigated land | 8,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | four, coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution, rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) | 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 | 18.3 million (1999 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) (1990) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 6,004 km
border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 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: 1.9%
permanent crops: 1.96% other: 96.14% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 28, PSC 13, independents and smaller parties (many aligned with conservatives) 61; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 54, PSC 21, independents and other parties 91 |
bicameral Parliament 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 Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.85 years
male: 67 years female: 74.83 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 91.2% female: 91.4% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | South America | Europe |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 32,438 GRT/43,126 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional) | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.3 billion (FY01) | $156 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY01) | 1% (FY01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 10,946,932 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 7,308,703 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 379,295 (2002 est.) | males: 86,396 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) | 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: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts | NA |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km; natural gas liquids 125 km | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
| Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Liberal Party or PL [Horatio SERPA Uribe]; Patriotic Union or UP is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; 19 of April Movement or M-19 [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress |
Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest anti-insurgent paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC | NA |
| Population | 41,008,227 (July 2002 est.) | 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 55% (2001) (2001) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.6% (2002 est.) | -0.14% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Bahia de Portete, Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 21 million (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines to maritime port at Bahia de Portete) narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (major sections not in use) (2000 est.) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 90% | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 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 (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: modern system in many respects
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
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's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: 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 | 5,433,565 (December 1997) | 2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,800,229 (December 1998) | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 2.64 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 17% (2001 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | 18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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