Belarus

Belarus 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.

Belarus Information

• Population: 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
• Location:: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
• Religions:: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
• Ethnic Groups:: Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
• Land Boundaries:: total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
• Area: total: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 207,600 sq km
• Coast Line: 0 km (landlocked)
• Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
• Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
• Maritime Claims: none (landlocked)
• Land Use: arable land: 29.55% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001)
• Environmental Issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
• Natural Resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
• Highways: total: 74,385 km paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)
• Railways: total: 5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003)
• Ports & Harbours: Mazyr
• Airports: 135 (2003 est.)