Belarus
|
| Basic Facts |
| 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 |
| Gevernment type | republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship |
| 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; ends last Sunday in October |
| 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 |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Internet country code | .by |
| Ports and terminals | Mazyr |
| Agriculture products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Geography |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Continent | Europe |
| Area |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| 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) |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Natural hazards | NA |
| People |
| Population | 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.) |
| 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 |
