The 1996 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 11,500 (yearend 1995), 10,600 (yearend 1994)

      Fiscal year: calendar year

      Transportation———————

      Railways: total: 5,488 km broad gauge: 5,488 km 1.520-m gauge (873 km electrified) (1993)

      Highways:

       total: 92,200 km

       paved: 61,000 km (including graveled)

       unpaved: 31,200 km (1994 est.)

      Waterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used

       canal and river systems

      Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural

       gas 1,980 km (1992)

      Ports: Mazyr

      Merchant marine:

       note: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet (1995 est.)

      Airports:

       total: 118

       with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2

       with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 18

       with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5

       with paved runways under 914 m: 11

       with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1

       with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6

       with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4

       with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9

       with unpaved runways under 914 m: 62 (1994 est.)

      Communications———————

      Telephones: 1.849 million (1991 est.)

      Telephone system: telephone service inadequate for the purposes of

       either business or the population; about 70% of the telephones are

       in homes; over 750,000 applications from households for telephones

       remain unsatisfied (1992 est.); new investment centers on

       international connections and business needs

       domestic: the new NMT-450 analog cellular system is now operating in

       Minsk

       international: international traffic is carried by the Moscow

       international gateway switch and also by satellite; satellite earth

       stations - 1 Intelsat (through Canada) and 1 Eutelsat (through the

       UK)

      Radio broadcast stations: AM 35, FM 18, shortwave 0

      Radios: 3.17 million (1991 est.) (5,615,000 with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion)

      Television broadcast stations: 2 (one national and one private; the license of the private station was suspended during the parliamentary elections of 1994)

      Televisions: 3.5 million (1992 est.)

      Defense———

      Branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Republic Security

       Forces (internal and border troops)

      Manpower availability: males age 15–49: 2,635,570 males fit for military service: 2,067,676 males reach military age (18) annually: 76,006 (1996 est.)

      Defense expenditures: 892 billion rubels, 1% of GDP (1995); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

      ======================================================================

      @Belgium———

      Map—

      Location: 50 50 N, 4 00 E—Western Europe, bordering the North

       Sea, between France and the Netherlands

      Flag——

      Description: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side),

       yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France

      Geography————

      Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France

       and the Netherlands

      Geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 00 E

      Map references: Europe

      Area:

       total area: 30,510 sq km

       land area: 30,230 sq km

       comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

      Land boundaries:

       total: 1,385 km

       border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km,

       Netherlands 450 km

      Coastline: 64 km

      Maritime claims:

       continental shelf: median line with neighbors

       exclusive fishing zone: median line with neighbors (extends about 68

       km from coast)

       territorial sea: 12 nm

      International disputes: none

      Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

      Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast lowest point: North Sea 0 m highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m

      Natural resources: coal, natural gas

      Land use:

       arable land: 24%

       permanent crops: 1%

       meadows and pastures: 20%

       forest and woodland: 21%

       other: 34%

      Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

      Environment:

       current issues: Meuse River, a major source of drinking water,

       polluted from steel production wastes; other rivers polluted by

       animal wastes and fertilizers; industrial air pollution contributes

       to acid rain in neighboring countries

       natural hazards: flooding is a threat in areas of reclaimed coastal

       land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes

       international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air

       Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species,

       Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine

       Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship

       Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -

       Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air

       Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental

       Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

      Geographic note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West

       European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of

       the EU

      People———

      Population: 10,170,241 (July 1996 est.)

      Age structure:

       0–14 years: 18% (male 930,919; female 886,632)

       15–64 years: 66% (male 3,380,105; female 3,326,853)

       65 years and over: 16% (male 663,760; female 981,972) (July 1996