Belarus
Country Guide

Explore Belarus

Belarus with its capital Minsk is located in Europe (Eastern Europe, east of Poland). It covers some 207,601 square kilometers (slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky) with a population of 9,549,750. Belarusian and Russian are the languages spoken by people in Belarus. Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine are bordering countries.

Belarus is in Eastern Europe. Belarus attained its independence in 1991. However, under authoritarian rule, it has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Traveling by car will get you far, since the infrastructure in Belarus was well developed after World War II. Gas is relatively cheap by European standards. Traveling by train around the country will get you to a lot of desired destinations relatively cheap and you will get a chance to capture a glimpse of Belarusian nature, as the forests and plains often start right on the edges of the cities. English is not widely spoken in Belarus, even though it is starting to be on the popular uprise. Inside of Belarus, you can get Belarusian rubles (as well as US dollars) from automatic bank machines for standard types of credit/debit card. Be very careful, exchange kiosks will not exchange any bill that is damaged or marked on in any way. Approximately half of the bills you currently have in your wallet will be rejected for exchange in Belarus. Be sure to take ONLY relatively new and undamaged foreign money with you. Fortunately, crimes against foreigners are rare, though criminals have been known to use force if met with resistance from victims. Historically, Belarus maintained an excellent health system, but when the Chernobyl disaster broke out, the medical care has damaged the system severely. Therefore, medical care in Belarus is neither modern nor easily accessible.

Popular Destinations in Belarus

Administrative regions of Belarus

• Brest Oblast
• Gomel Oblast
• Grodnenskaya
• Minsk City
• Minsk Oblast
• Mogilyov Oblast
• Vitebsk Oblast

About the country

The topography is generally flat with much marshland. The average density of population is about 46 per km². The climate in Belarus can be described as cold winters, cool and moist summers with transitional between continental and maritime. Potential natural disasters are large tracts of marshy land.

To reach someone Belarus dial +375 prior to a number. The local cellular networks are operated on 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3G, 4G. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".by". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery chaarger), keep in min the local 220 V - 50 Hz (plugs: C, F). The sign for the locally used currency Ruble is BYR.

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; the red band color recalls past struggles from oppression, the green band represents hope and the many forests of the country.

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 have 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 and only directly elected president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on political and civil freedoms, freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion have remained in place.

Geography

Area
Total (World Rank: 87)	207,600	sq km
Land (World Rank: 83)	202,900	sq km
Water (World Rank: 67)	4,700	sq km
Forest (World Rank: 109)	15.90	%
Comparative	slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas
Landborder
3642
Elevation
Lowest point (World Rank: 27)	90	m
Highest point (World Rank: 202)	346	m
Agricultural land
Total (World Rank: 88)	43.70	%
Arable (World Rank: 36)	27.20	%
Permanent crops (World Rank: 141)	0.60	%
Permanent pastures (World Rank: 109)	15.90	%
Irrigated land (World Rank: 89)	1,140	sq km
Map reference
Europe
Environment
Issues	- soil pollution from pesticide use - southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Agreement party	- 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
Hazzards	large tracts of marshy land
Location
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Climate
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain
generally flat with much marshland

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People

Population
Total (World Rank: 93)	9,549,750
Deathrate (World Rank: 11)	1.32	%
Birthrate (World Rank: 186)	1.03	%
Growthrate (World Rank: 206)	-0.22	%
Migration rate (World Rank: 60)	0.07	%
Fertility rate (World Rank: 196)	1.48	%
Median age
Male (World Rank: 57)	37.10
Female (World Rank: 38)	43.10
Age structure
0 14 male (World Rank: 107)	774,995
0 14 female (World Rank: 108)	732,191
15 24 male (World Rank: 107)	505,420
15 24 female (World Rank: 110)	477,123
25 54 male (World Rank: 81)	2,104,170
25 54 female (World Rank: 80)	2,170,520
55 64 male (World Rank: 61)	599,630
55 64 female (World Rank: 52)	757,744
65 x male (World Rank: 69)	457,766
65 x female (World Rank: 51)	970,193
Health
Infant mortality rate (World Rank: 194)	0.36	%
Life expectancy total (World Rank: 138)	73	years
Life expectancy female (World Rank: 95)	79	years
Life expectancy male (World Rank: 150)	68	years
Physicians per 1000 (World Rank: 14)	4.07
Hospital bed per 1000 (World Rank: 4)	11.30
Sanitation access total (World Rank: 79)	94.30	%
Obesity adult (World Rank: 58)	24.50	%
Drinking water access (World Rank: 49)	99.70	%

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Energy

Electricity
Production (World Rank: 62)	32,040,000,000	kWh
Consumption (World Rank: 60)	31,750,000,000	kWh
Export (World Rank: 39)	3,482,000,000	kWh
Import (World Rank: 34)	6,104,000,000	kWh
Source fossil (World Rank: 34)	99.20	%
Source nuclear (World Rank: 151)	0.40	%
Source renew (World Rank: 139)	0.90	%
Crude oil
Production (World Rank: 60)	32,670	bbl / day
Exports (World Rank: 48)	31,770	bbl / day
Imports (World Rank: 22)	450,200	bbl / day
Proved reserves (World Rank: 58)	198,000,000	bbl
Refined products
Production (World Rank: 35)	471,600	bbl / day
Consumption (World Rank: 61)	172,000	bbl / day
Export (World Rank: 26)	290,300	bbl / day
Import (World Rank: 182)	2,387	bbl / day
Natural gas
Production (World Rank: 87)	30,000,000	m³
Consumption (World Rank: 39)	26,500,000,000	m³
Import (World Rank: 43)	0	m³
Carbon footprint
70000000

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Nation

Budget
Education (World Rank: 78)	5	% of GDP
Military (World Rank: 98)	1	% of GDP
Health (World Rank: 114)	6	% of GDP
Surplus (World Rank: 19)	1	% of GDP
National symbol
the mounted knight known as Pahonia is the traditional Belarusian symbol
National colours
white
Adjective
Belarusian
Noun
Belarusian(s)
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 have 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 and only directly elected president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on political and civil freedoms, freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion have remained in place.
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 ornamentation in red; the red band color recalls past struggles from oppression, the green band represents hope and the many forests of the country

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Economy

Gdp
Purchasing power parity (World Rank: 70)	171,700,000,000	USD
Real growth rate (World Rank: 202)	-2.60	%
Per capita purchasing power parity (World Rank: 92)	18,100	USD
Source agriculture (World Rank: 103)	8.10	%
Source industry (World Rank: 24)	39.60	%
Source service (World Rank: 162)	52.30	%
Labourforce
Total (World Rank: 89)	4,381,000
In poverty (World Rank: 161)	5.70	%
Products
Industries	- earthmovers - fertilizer - metal-cutting machine tools - motorcycles - other household appliances - refrigerators - synthetic fibers - textiles - tractors - trucks - washing machines
Agriculture	- beef - flax - grain - milk - potatoes - sugar beets - vegetables
Exports	- chemicals - equipment - foodstuffs - machinery - metals - mineral products - textiles
Imports	- chemicals - equipment - foodstuffs - machinery - metals - mineral products

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Communication

Phone
Landline total (World Rank: 31)	4,515,380
Landline per 100 (World Rank: 25)	47.00
Mobile per 100 (World Rank: 76)	120.00
Assessment	0
Internet
Users (World Rank: 62)	6,805,790
Population (World Rank: 70)	71.10	%

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Transport

Air
Airports paved (World Rank: 57)	33.00
Airports unpaved (World Rank: 81)	32.00
Heliports (World Rank: 86)	1.00
Rail
Total length (World Rank: 35)	5,528
Road
Total length (World Rank: 57)	86,392
Paved length (World Rank: 35)	74,651
Unpaved length (World Rank: 75)	11,741
Water
Total length (World Rank: 36)	2,500

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