]! ^! 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 1994 as the country's first president, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. 
]" ^" Eastern Europe, east of Poland ^# 53 00 N, 28 00 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 207,600 sq km `" 207,600 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Kansas ^' `! 2,900 km `Y Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime ^+ generally flat and contains much marshland ^, `% Nyoman River 90 m `& Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m ^- forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay ^. `' 26.77% `( 0.6% `) 72.63% (2005) ^/ 1,310 sq km (2003) ^0 NA ^1 soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine _P `P 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 `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes 
]# ^3 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734) `, 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690) `- 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 38.2 years `. 35.1 years `/ 41.1 years (2007 est.) ^6 -0.41% (2007 est.) ^7 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.06 male(s)/female `1 1.06 male(s)/female `, 0.945 male(s)/female `- 0.481 male(s)/female `2 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births `. 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 70.05 years `. 64.31 years `/ 76.14 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.3% (2001 est.) ^? 15,000 (2001 est.) ^@ 1,000 (2001 est.) ^A `3 Belarusian(s) `4 Belarusian ^B Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) ^C Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) ^D Belarusian, Russian, other ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 99.6% `. 99.8% `/ 99.5% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Belarus `7 Belarus `Z Respublika Byelarus' `[ Byelarus' `\ Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic ^H republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship ^I `8 Minsk `9 53 54 N, 27 34 E `: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October ^J 6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk `* administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers ^K 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) ^L 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 ^M 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 ^N based on civil law system ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) `< Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since NA December 2003) `= Council of Ministers `> 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, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president `? Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud ^Q 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 eight members appointed by the president, all for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `> last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the 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 `? Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA ^R 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) ^S pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH] opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party (People's Assembly) or BSDP NH [Aleksandr KOZULIN]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR] ^T Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS] ^U BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ^V `R Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV `S 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 `T [1] (202) 986-1604 `U [1] (202) 986-1805 `V New York ^W `R Ambassador Karen B. STEWART `_ 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 `` PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 `T [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348 `U [375] (17) 234-7853 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Belarus's economy in 2006 posted more than 8% growth. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2006, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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. Since 2005, the government has re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by 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. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. This growth will be threatened in 2007, however, when Russia raises energy prices closer to world market prices for Belarus. Russia is planning to increase Belarusian gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm for 2007, gradually increasing to world prices by 2011. Russia has also introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 70% will go to Russia in 2007, 80% in 2008, and 85% in 2009. ^Z $80.74 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $28.56 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 8.3% (2006 est.) ^] $7,800 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 9.3% `A 31.6% `B 59.1% (2005 est.) ^_ 4.3 million (31 December 2005) ^` `@ 14% `A 34.7% `B 51.3% (2003 est.) ^a 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) _! 27.1% (2003 est.) _" `C 5.1% `D 20% (1998) _d 30.4 (2000) _# 9.5% (2006 est.) _V 25.9% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $6.578 billion `F $7.164 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2006 est.) _& grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk _' metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators _( 15.6% (2005 est.) _) 29.33 billion kWh (2004) _* 31.05 billion kWh (2004) _+ 4.723 billion kWh (2004) _, 8.5 billion kWh (2004) _- 34,260 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 165,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) _0 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _1 180 million cu m (2004 est.) _2 20.5 billion cu m (2005 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 16.22 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-511.8 million (2006 est.) _3 $19.61 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs _5 Russia 35.8%, Netherlands 15.1%, UK 7%, Ukraine 5.7%, Poland 5.3%, Germany 4.4% (2005) _6 $21.12 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals _8 Russia 60.6%, Germany 6.7%, Ukraine 5.4% (2005) _[ $1.329 billion (2006 est.) _9 $5.498 billion (30 June 2006 est.) _: $194.3 million (1995) _; Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) _< Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 3,284,300 (2005) _? 4.098 million (2005) _@ `G Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly `H fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies `I 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 _A AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) _B 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) _C .by _D 33,641 (2006) _E 3.394 million (2005) 
]' _F 86 (2006) _G `! 41 `a 2 `J 22 `b 4 `c 1 `W 12 (2006) _R `! 45 `a 1 `J 1 `b 2 `c 6 `W 35 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _^ gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006) _e `! 5,512 km `r 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) `m 15 km 1.435 m (2005) _H `! 93,310 km `K 81,180 km `L 12,130 km (2004) _b 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) _I Mazyr 
]( _J Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) _T 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005) _K males age 18-49: 2,520,644 females age 18-49: 2,564,696 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,657,984 females age 18-49: 2,102,793 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 85,202 females age 18-49: 82,037 (2005 est.) _U 1.4% (2005 est.) 
]) _N as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security _O 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 