SELECT EDITION
CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(7 fields)
Broadcast media
4 state-controlled national TV channels; Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas; state-run Belarusian Radio operates 3 national networks and an external service; Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2007)
Internet country code
.by
Internet hosts
295,217 (2012) country comparison to the world: 64
Internet users
2.643 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 69
Telephone system
general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital domestic: state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; multiple GSM mobile-cellular networks are experiencing rapid growth; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 telephones per 100 persons international: 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 (2008)
Telephones - main lines in use
4.208 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 41
Telephones - mobile cellular
10.695 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 71
◆ ECONOMY(37 fields)
Agriculture - products
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Budget
revenues: $21.42 billion expenditures: $22.04 billion (2012 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)
-1.1% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 60
Central bank discount rate
10.5% (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 13 13.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate
10.5% (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 60 13.58% (31 December 2011 est.)
Current account balance
-$3.067 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 150 -$5.775 billion (2011 est.)
Debt - external
$1.067 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 154 $1.079 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
27.2 (2008) country comparison to the world: 125 21.7 (1998)
Economy - overview
As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base; it retained this industrial base - which is now outdated, energy inefficient, and dependent on subsidized Russian energy and preferential access to Russian markets - following the breakup of the USSR. The country also has a broad agricultural base which is inefficient and dependent on government subsidies. After an initial burst of capitalist reform from 1991-94, including privatization of state enterprises, creation of institutions of private property, and development of entrepreneurship, Belarus' economic development greatly slowed. About 80% of all industry remains in state hands, and foreign investment has been hindered by a climate hostile to business. A few banks, which had been privatized after independence, were renationalized. State banks account for 75% of the banking sector. Economic output, which had declined for several years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, revived in the mid-2000s thanks to the boom in oil prices. Belarus has only small reserves of crude oil, though it imports most of its crude oil and natural gas from Russia at prices substantially below the world market. Belarus exported refined oil products at market prices produced from Russian crude oil purchased at a steep discount. In late 2006, Russia began a process of rolling back its subsidies on oil and gas to Belarus. Tensions over Russian energy reached a peak in 2010, when Russia stopped the export of all subsidized oil to Belarus save for domestic needs. In December 2010, Russia and Belarus reached a deal to restart the export of discounted oil to Belarus. Little new foreign investment has occurred in recent years. In 2011, a financial crisis began, triggered by government directed salary hikes unsupported by commensurate productivity increases. The crisis was compounded by an increased cost in Russian energy inputs and an overvalued Belarusian ruble, and eventually led to a near three-fold devaluation of the Belarusian ruble in 2011. In November 2011, Belarus agreed to sell to Russia its remaining shares in Beltransgaz, the Belarusian natural gas pipeline operator, in exchange for reduced prices for Russian natural gas. Receiving more than half of a $3 billion loan from the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Community Bail-out Fund, a $1 billion loan from the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank, and the $2.5 billion sale of Beltranzgas to Russian state-owned Gazprom helped stabilize the situation in 2012; nevertheless, the Belarusian currency lost more than 60% of its value.
Exchange rates
Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar - 8,307.1 (2012 est.) 4,974.6 (2011 est.) 2,978.5 (2010 est.) 2,789.49 (2009) 2,130 (2008)
Exports
$46.6 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 62 $41.41 billion (2011 est.)
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners
Russia 33.5%, Netherlands 15.1%, Ukraine 10.2%, Latvia 7.7%, Germany 4.5% (2011)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP (official exchange rate)
$58.22 billion (2012 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$150.3 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 62 $144.1 billion (2011 est.) $136.8 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 9.2% industry: 46.2% services: 44.6% (2012 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$16,000 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 77 $15,300 (2011 est.) $14,400 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars
GDP - real growth rate
4.3% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 74 5.3% (2011 est.) 7.7% (2010 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 3.8% highest 10%: 21.9% (2008)
Imports
$48.18 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 55 $45.13 billion (2011 est.)
Imports - commodities
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners
Russia 54.4%, Germany 5.6%, China 4.8%, Ukraine 4.4% (2011)
Industrial production growth rate
10.5% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 11
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
70% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 223 53.3% (2011 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
35.8% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 9
Labor force
5 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 76
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 9.4% industry: 45.9% services: 44.7% (2005 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares
$NA
Population below poverty line
27.1% (2003 est.)
Public debt
30% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 114 52.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$5.624 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 85 $6.011 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of broad money
$13.32 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 95 $16.75 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Stock of domestic credit
$31.34 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 72 $25.21 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of narrow money
$5.213 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 97 $4.211 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Taxes and other revenues
36.8% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 63
Unemployment rate
1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 1.6% (2005) note: official registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers
◆ ENERGY(23 fields)
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy
68.24 million Mt (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 51
Crude oil - exports
34,320 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 49
Crude oil - imports
431,300 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 18
Crude oil - production
30,000 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 66
Crude oil - proved reserves
198 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 63
Electricity - consumption
29.54 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 62
Electricity - exports
3.933 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 34
Electricity - from fossil fuels
99.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 50
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants
0.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 148
Electricity - from nuclear fuels
0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 55
Electricity - from other renewable sources
0.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 95
Electricity - imports
8.404 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 26
Electricity - installed generating capacity
8.032 million kW (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 63
Electricity - production
28.55 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 66
Natural gas - consumption
21.82 billion cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 35
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 164
Natural gas - imports
21.6 billion cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 17
Natural gas - production
220 million cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 76
Natural gas - proved reserves
2.832 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 96
Refined petroleum products - consumption
188,800 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 60
Refined petroleum products - exports
302,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 25
Refined petroleum products - imports
39,660 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 76
Refined petroleum products - production
427,800 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 36
◆ GEOGRAPHY(20 fields)
Area
total: 207,600 sq km country comparison to the world: 86 land: 202,900 sq km water: 4,700 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Kansas
Climate
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues
soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements
party to: 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 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
total: 2.79 cu km/yr (23%/47%/30%) per capita: 286 cu m/yr (2000)
Geographic coordinates
53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note
landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Irrigated land
1,310 sq km (2003)
Land boundaries
total: 3,306 km border countries: Latvia 171 km, Lithuania 680 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use
arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
Location
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references
Europe
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
NA
Natural resources
timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Terrain
generally flat and contains much marshland
Total renewable water resources
58 cu km (1997)
◆ GOVERNMENT(21 fields)
Administrative divisions
6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel' (Gomel), Horad Minsk* (Minsk City), Hrodna (Grodno), Mahilyow (Mogilev), Minsk, Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk) note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers; Russian spelling provided for reference when different from Belarusian
Capital
name: Minsk geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March
Constitution
15 March 1994; revised by national referendum 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers; became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits
Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ethan GOLDRICH embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 334-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Oleg KRAVCHENKO chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York
Executive branch
chief of state: president Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); note - the United States does not recognize the results of the 19 December 2010 elections under which the Central Election Commission of Belarus declared LUKASHENKO president head of government: prime minister Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH (since 28 December 2010); first deputy prime minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place on 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 on 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the president to run in a third (19 March 2006) and fourth election (19 December 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 79.7%, Andrey SANNIKOV 2.6%, other candidates 17.7%; note - election marred by electoral fraud
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
Government type
republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
Independence
25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International organization participation
BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CEI, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Judicial branch
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)
Legal system
civil law system; note - nearly all major codes (civil, civil procedure, criminal, criminal procedure, family and labor) have been revised and came into force in 1999 or 2000
Legislative branch
bicameral national assembly or natsionalnoye sobraniye consists of the Council of the Republic or Sovet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional and Minsk city councils and 8 members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the United States does not recognize the legitimacy of the national assembly elections: Palata Predstaviteley - last held on 23 September 2012 (next to be held September 2016); OSCE observers determined that the election was neither free nor impartial and that vote counting was problematic in a number of polling stations; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat with no opposition representation in the chamber; international observers determined that the previous election, on 28 September 2008, despite minor improvements also fell short of democratic standards, with pro-LUKASHENKO candidates winning every seat election results: Sovet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley [2008] - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KPB 6, AP 1, no affiliation 103; Palata Predstaviteley [2012] - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KPB 3, AP 1, no affiliation 106
National anthem
name: "My, Bielarusy" (We Belarusians) lyrics/music: Mikhas KLIMKOVICH and Uladzimir KARYZNA/Nester SAKALOUSKI note: music adopted 1955, lyrics adopted 2002; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Belarus kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem but adopted new lyrics; also known as "Dziarzauny himn Respubliki Bielarus" (State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus)
National holiday
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
National symbol(s)
mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser)
Political parties and leaders
pro-government parties: Belarusian Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Communist Party of Belarus or KPB [Igor KARPENKO]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice [Vasiliy ZADNEPRYANYY] opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party [Pavel SEVERINETS] (unregistered); Belarusian Party of the Left "Fair World" [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Aleksey YANUKEVICH]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Hramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada ("Assembly") or BSDPH [Anatoliy LEVKOVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party People's Assembly ("Narodnaya Hramada") [Nikolay STATKEVICH] (unregistered); Christian Conservative Party or BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; European Belarus Campaign [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Party of Freedom and Progress [Vladimir NOVOSYAD] (unregistered); "Tell the Truth" Campaign [Vladimir NEKLYAYEV]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs (unregistered) [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Association of Journalists [Zhana LITVINA]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Aleh HULAK]; Belarusian Independence Bloc (unregistered) and For Freedom movement [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; BPF-Youth [Andrus KRECHKA]; Charter 97 (unregistered) [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Perspektiva small business association [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Nasha Vyasna (unregistered) ("Our Spring") human rights center [Ales BYALYATSKI]; "Tell the Truth" Movement [Vladimir NEKLYAYEV]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Young Belarus (Malady Belarus) [Zmitser KASPYAROVICH]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Zmitser DASHKEVICH]
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
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. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.
◆ MILITARY(6 fields)
Manpower available for military service
males age 16-49: 2,401,785 females age 16-49: 2,429,653 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 16-49: 1,693,626 females age 16-49: 2,012,401 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually
male: 51,855 female: 48,760 (2010 est.)
Military branches
Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force, Special Operations Force (2011)
Military expenditures
1.4% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 102
Military service age and obligation
18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 12-18 months, depending on academic qualifications (2010)
◆ PEOPLE AND SOCIETY(29 fields)
Age structure
0-14 years: 15% (male 744,138/ female 702,294) 15-64 years: 71.1% (male 3,322,745/ female 3,534,948) 65 years and over: 13.9% (male 420,226/ female 919,215) (2012 est.)
Birth rate
11.1 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 173
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
1.3% (2005) country comparison to the world: 117
Death rate
13.9 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 12
Education expenditures
4.5% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 83
Ethnic groups
Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 3.2% (2009 census)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.3% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 89
HIV/AIDS - deaths
fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 69
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
17,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 82
Health expenditures
5.8% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 113
Hospital bed density
11.23 beds/1,000 population (2007)
Infant mortality rate
total: 3.7 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 205 male: 4.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
Languages
Belarusian (official) 23.4%, Russian (official) 70.2%, other 6.4% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities) (1999 census)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.48 years country comparison to the world: 138 male: 65.88 years female: 77.42 years (2012 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2009 census)
Major cities - population
MINSK (capital) 1.837 million (2009)
Maternal mortality rate
190 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) country comparison to the world: 57
Median age
total: 39.3 years male: 36.3 years female: 42.3 years (2012 est.)
Nationality
noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Net migration rate
0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 66
Physicians density
4.869 physicians/1,000 population (2007)
Population
9,643,566 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 89
Population growth rate
-0.18% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 205
Religions
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 91% of population rural: 97% of population total: 93% of population unimproved: urban: 9% of population rural: 3% of population total: 7% of population
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 15 years male: 14 years female: 15 years (2007)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.45 children born/woman (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 196
Urbanization
urban population: 75% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 0.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
◆ TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES(2 fields)
Disputes - international
boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania; Poland seeks enhanced demarcation and security along this Schengen hard border with financial assistance from the EU
Illicit drugs
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; anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards and was weakened further when know-your-customer requirements were curtailed in 2008; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities (2008)
◆ TRANSPORTATION(9 fields)
Airports
65 (2012) country comparison to the world: 78
Airports - with paved runways
total: 34 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2012)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 28 (2012)
Heliports
1 (2012)
Pipelines
gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2010)
Ports and terminals
Mazyr
Railways
total: 5,537 km country comparison to the world: 32 broad gauge: 5,512 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 25 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)
Roadways
total: 86,392 km country comparison to the world: 53 paved: 74,651 km unpaved: 11,741 km (2010)
Waterways
2,500 km (use limited by its location on the perimeter of the country and by its shallowness) (2011) country comparison to the world: 36