production): grain (3.6%), potatoes (12.2%), vegetables (3.0%), meat (6.0%), milk (7.0%); net exporter of meat, milk, eggs, flour, potatoes Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe Economic aid: $NA Currency: Belarusian rubel note: the government signed a framework agreement with Russia for a monetary union in January 1994, but a schedule and mechanism for merging the two monetary systems and replacing Belarusian rubels with Russian rubles have not been worked out Exchange rates: NA Fiscal year: calendar year
@Belarus, Communications
Railroads:
5,570 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
total:
98,200 km
paved:
66,100 km
unpaved:
earth 32,100 km (1990)
Inland waterways:
NA km
Pipelines:
crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km
(1992)
Ports:
none; landlocked
Merchant marine:
claims 5% of former Soviet fleet
Airports:
total:
124
usable:
55
with permanent-surface runways:
31
with runways over 3,659 m:
1
with runways 2,440–3,659 m:
28
with runways 1,060–2,439 m:
20
note:
a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
telephone service in Belarus is inadequate for the purposes of either
business or the population; total number of telephones 1,849,000 (31
December 1991); telephone density - 18 for each 100 persons; about 70%
of the telephones are in homes; over 750,000 applications from
households for telephones remain unsatisfied (1992); new investment
centers on international connections and business needs; the new
BelCel NMT 450 cellular system (a joint venture) is now operating in
Minsk but progress has been slower in establishing an INTELSAT earth
station; international traffic still relies on the Moscow
international gateway switch; broadcast receivers - television
3,538,000, radio 3,140,000, radio receivers with multiple speaker
systems for program diffusion 5,615,000
@Belarus, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and
border troops)
Manpower availability:
males age 15–49 2,520,487; fit for military service 1,981,749; reach
military age (18) annually 71,922 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
56.5 billion rubles, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the
military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could
produce misleading results
@Belgium, Geography
Location:
Western Europe, bordering on the North Sea, between France and the
Netherlands
Map references:
Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
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, France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km,
Netherlands 450 km
Coastline:
64 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
equidistant line with neighbors
exclusive fishing zone:
equidistant 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
Natural resources:
coal, natural gas
Land use:
arable land:
24%
permanent crops:
1%
meadows and pastures:
20%
