Belarus Political Map

Political Map: Defined
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Introduction    Belarus Top of Page 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, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.    Geography    Belarus Top of Page Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E Map references: Area: total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas Land boundaries: total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none (landlocked) Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay Land use: arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) Irrigated land: 1,310 sq km (2003) Total renewable water resources: 58 cu km (1997) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): Total: 2.79 cu km/yr (23%/47%/30%) Per capita: 286 cu m/yr (2000) Natural hazards: NA 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 Geography - note: landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes    People    Belarus Top of Page Population: 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734) 15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.) Median age: total: 38.2 years male: 35.1 years female: 41.1 years (2007 est.) Population growth rate: -0.41% (2007 est.) Birth rate: 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Death rate: 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Net migration rate: 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.05 years male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,000 (2001 est.) Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian Ethnic groups: Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Languages: Belarusian, Russian, other Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census) This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008 - The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook -