Belarus 
Facts
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.).
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).
GDP (purchasing power parity): $82.94 billion (2006 est.).
GDP - real growth rate: 9.9% (2006 est.).
GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,100 (2006 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6%
services: 59.1% (2005 est.).
Labor force: 4.3 million (31 December 2005).
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7%
services: 51.3% (2003 est.).
Population below poverty line: 27.1% (2003 est.).
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998).
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (2006 est.).
Unemployment rate: 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005).
Budget: revenues: $6.578 billion
expenditures: $7.164 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2006 est.).
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.
Industrial production growth rate: 15.6% (2005 est.).
Electricity - production: 29.33 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - consumption: 31.05 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - exports: 4.723 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - imports: 8.5 billion kWh (2004).
Exports: $19.61 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs.
Exports - partners: Russia 35.8%, Netherlands 15.1%, UK 7%, Ukraine 5.7%, Poland 5.3%, Germany 4.4% (2005).
Imports: $21.12 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals.
Imports - partners: Russia 60.6%, Germany 6.7%, Ukraine 5.4% (2005).
Debt - external: $5.498 billion (30 June 2006 est.).
Economic aid - recipient: $194.3 million (1995).
Currency (code): Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR).
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002).
Fiscal year: calendar year.
Statistics: C.I.A. World Factbook. Updated: July 20, 2007.
Press
Minsk
http://www.belarusnews.de/news_en/index.shtml
Belorusskaïa Delovaya Gazeta
Minsk
Belarus in the News
President Alexander Lukashenko has built a powerful, repressive government around himself, based on the state monopoly of economic resources, on holding all executive power in his hand.
While Ukraine moves toward forming a representative government following parliamentary elections, Belarus finds itself more isolated than ever in the wake of a controversial presidential poll.
For two countries supposedly on the verge of forming a loose union, Belarus and Russia seem to have a good deal of ambivalence about their relationship.
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