What are the redeeming factors for this place, where more women are fit for military service than the men? They shouldn’t have internet access or should be charged appropriately for the privilege.
15,000 living with aids
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
GDP (purchasing power parity): Definition Field Listing Rank Order $73.09 billion (2005 est.)
Debt – external: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: Definition Field Listing 27.1% (2003 est.)
Exchange rates: Definition Field Listing Belarusian rubles per US dollar – 2,150 (2005)
Religions: Definition Field Listing Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Manpower available for military service: Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 2,520,644
females age 18-49: 2,564,696 (2005 est.)Manpower fit for military service: Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,657,984
females age 18-49: 2,102,793 (2005 est.)Illicit drugs: Definition Field Listing limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities
Economy – overview: Definition Field Listing Belarus’s economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia – by far its largest single trade partner – decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of “market socialism.” In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state’s right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. During 2005, the government re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of “disruptive” businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus’ growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.
Source: CIA
