The 2003 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

- 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, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%

      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: 99.5% (2003 est.)

      Government Belarus

      Country name:

       conventional long form: Republic of Belarus

       conventional short form: Belarus

       local short form: none

       former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

       local long form: Respublika Byelarus'

      Government type:

       republic

      Capital:

       Minsk

      Administrative divisions:

       6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady,

       singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad

       Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya,

       Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the

       adjectival ending 'skaya,' the word voblasts' should be added to the

       place name

       note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in

       parentheses

      Independence:

       25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

      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

      Constitution:

       30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996

       giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective

       27 November 1996

      Legal system:

       based on civil law system

      Suffrage:

       18 years of age; universal

      Executive branch:

       chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)

       head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10

       July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March

       2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN

       (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 2003)

       cabinet: Council of Ministers

       election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent

       of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%

       elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;

       first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the

       1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999,

       however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996

       referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be

       held by September 2006); prime minister and deputy prime ministers

       appointed by the president

      Legislative branch:

       bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the

       Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members

       elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the

       president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives

       or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal

       adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)

       election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present

       political conditions party designations are meaningless

       elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)

      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)

      Political parties and leaders:

       Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist

       Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green

       Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of

       Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian

       Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian

       Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat

       Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian

       Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH,

       chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic

       Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; Liberal

       Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of

       Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican

       Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman];

       Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA];

       Women's Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]

      Political pressure groups and leaders:

       NA

      International organization participation:

       CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,

       IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NAM (observer),

       NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO,

       WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

      Diplomatic representation in the US:

       chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV

       chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

       consulate(s) general: New York

       FAX: [1] (202) 986–1805

       telephone: [1] (202) 986–1604

      Diplomatic representation from the US:

       chief of mission: Ambassador