Belarus

Adversity Is A Good Teacher

 

General

Population: 9,648,533 (2009)
Land Area: 207,600 sq km
Natural Resources: Forests, peat deposits, oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Capital: Minsk
Political System: Republic (Dictatorship)
State Leader: Aleksandr Lukashenko (1994)
Head of Government: Sergey Sidorsky (2003)
Languages: Belarusian, Russian
Currency: Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Major Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, Others 20%
Major Ethnicities: Belarusian 81,2%, Russian 11,4%, Polish 3,9%, Ukrainian 2,4%, Other 1,1%
Life Expectancy: 70,63 years (2009)

Economy

GDP: 46 billion (2009)
GDP Per Capita: 11,600 (2009)
GDP Growth Rate: -0,2% (2009)
GDP Structure: Agriculture 9,3%, Industry 39,7%, Services 51% (2009)
Labour Force By Occupation: Agriculture 14%, Industry 34,7%, Services 51,3% (2003)
Industries: Metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Agriculture Products: Grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Tourism Revenue: 379 million (2004)
Unemployment Rate: 1% (2009)

Military

Army Size: 72 940 (2004)
Budget: 1,4% of GDP (2005)

Current Situation

 

Belarus is located in eastern Europe, it bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Belarus' economy is based on agriculture and manufacturing. Since 1996, Belarus has been in talks with Russia for a possible unification of the two countries.

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Sources

CIA World Factbook: Belarus
Wikipedia: Belarus