Belarus-

conventional long form: Republic of Belarus-
Capital:
Type of Government: -
Administrative Divisions: -
Age Structure: -
Agriculture:
Airports: 133 (2004 est.)-
With Paved Runways: -
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 207,600 sq km. slightly smaller than Kansas
Background: 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: -
Budget: -
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)-
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Communications: -
Constitution:
Currency:
Current account balance: $312.4 million (2005 est.)-
Death rate: -
Debt - external: -
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas: -
Diplomatic representation from the US: -
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Disputes - international: 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-
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor: -
Economic aid - recipient:
Economy - overview: Belarus's economy in 2004-05 posted 6.4% and 7.8% 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:
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Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
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: -
Ethnic groups: -
Exchange rates: -
Executive branch: -
Exports: -
Exports - partners: -
Fiscal year:
Flag description: 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 (official exchange rate): -
GDP (purchasing power parity): -
GDP - composition by sector: -
GDP - per capita: -
GDP - real growth rate:
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note: 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-
Government - note: -
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: -
HIV/AIDS - deaths: -
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: -
Heliports: -
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Illicit drugs: 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: -
Imports - partners: -
Independence: -
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Industries: -
Infant mortality rate: -
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -
International organization participation: -
Internet country code: -
Internet hosts: -
Internet users:
Investment (gross fixed): 24.2% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)-
Judicial branch: -
Labor force: -
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 2,900 km
Land use: arable land: 29.55%-
Languages:
Legal system: based on civil law system-
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: -
Literacy:
Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland-
Major infectious diseases:
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 2,520,644 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,657,984 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 85,202 (2005 est.)
Map references: Europe
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)-
Median age: -
Merchant marine: -
Military - note: -
Military branches: -
Military expenditures - dollar figure: -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: -
Military service age and obligation: -
National holiday: -
Nationality:
Natural gas - consumption: 18.8 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: 250 million cu m (2004 est.)-
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Natural hazards: NA
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay-
Net migration rate: -
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Oil - exports: -
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Oil - proved reserves: -
People - note: -
Political parties and leaders: -
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Population: 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)-
Population below poverty line: -
Population growth rate:
Ports and terminals: Mazyr-
Public debt: -
Radio broadcast stations: -
Railways: -
Refugees and internally displaced persons: -
Religions:
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $835.4 million (2005 est.)-
Roadways: -
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: -
Telephone system: -
Telephones - main lines in use: -
Telephones - mobile cellular: -
Television broadcast stations:
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland-
Total fertility rate: -
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Unemployment rate: -
Waterways: