Belarus Education

 

Geography People Communications Transportation Related Articles Geography Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States Area: total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas Land boundaries: total: 3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none (landlocked) Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas Land use: arable land: 29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: NA 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea Geography - note: landlocked [back to top]

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 but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord. People Population: 10,366,719 (July 2000 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (male 982,959; female 942,062) 15-64 years: 68% (male 3,411,684; female 3,614,453) 65 years and over: 13% (male 466,929; female 948,632) (2000 est.) Population growth rate: -0.17% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 9.27 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 13.96 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: 3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 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 total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2000 est.) Infant mortality rate: 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68 years male: 61.83 years female: 74.48 years (2000 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian Ethnic groups: Byelorussian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9% Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) [back to top] Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 2.537 million (1997) Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,000 (1999) Telephone system: 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 Fiber-Optic Line (TAE) 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 Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) Radios: 3.02 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 17 (1997) Televisions: 2.52 million (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (1999) [back to top] Transportation Railways: total: 5,563 km broad gauge: 5,563 km 1.520-m gauge (894 km electrified) Highways: total: 63,355 km paved: 60,567 km unpaved: 2,788 km (1998 est.) Waterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) Ports and harbors: Mazyr Airports: 118 (1996 est.) Airports - with paved runways: total: 36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (1996 est.) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 82 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 62 (1996 est.)