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NAVIGATION
Republic of Belarus
Respublika Byelarus'
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus local short form: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic local long form: Respublika Byelarus' |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Minsk |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
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National holiday:
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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 |
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Constitution:
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30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 |
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Legal system:
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based on civil law system |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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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 election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4% 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 |
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Legislative branch:
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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)
election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) |
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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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] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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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) |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. TSEPAKLO
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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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 |
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Flag description:
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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 |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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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. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.1% (2001 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
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Population below poverty line:
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22% (1995 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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22 (1998) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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46.1% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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4.8 million (2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
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Unemployment rate:
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2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
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Budget:
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revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
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Industries:
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metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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5.4% (2001 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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24.66 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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26.78 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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300 million kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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4.15 billion kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
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Exports:
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$7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals |
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Exports - partners:
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Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) |
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Imports:
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$8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
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Imports - commodities:
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mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
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Imports - partners:
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Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$770 million (2001 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$194.3 million (1995) (1995) |
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Currency:
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Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
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Currency code:
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BYB/BYR |
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Exchange rates:
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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 |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |