during high tide and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodiccyclones
international agreements: NA
People———
Population: uninhabited
Government—————
Name of country: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Bassas da India
Data code: BS
Type of government: French possession administered by a
Commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion
Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion
Independence: none (possession of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
Economy———
Economic overview: no economic activity
Transportation———————
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Defense———
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France
======================================================================
@Belarus———
Map—
Location: 53 00 N, 28 00 E—Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Flag——
Description: red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe of white on the hoist side bears in red the Belarusian national ornament
Geography————
Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area:
total area: 207,600 sq km
land area: 207,600 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries:
total: 3,098 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km,
Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: none
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil
and natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 15%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 55%
Irrigated land: 1,490 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of
the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor
accident at Chornobyl'
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of
the Sea
Geographic note: landlocked
People———
Population: 10,415,973 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 21% (male 1,136,499; female 1,090,101)
15–64 years: 66% (male 3,334,077; female 3,536,982)
65 years and over: 13% (male 429,574; female 888,740) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.2% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 12.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 13.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.89 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.57 years male: 63.2 years female: 74.21 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic divisions: Byelorussian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%,
Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9%
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 60%, other (including Roman Catholic
and Muslim) 40% (early 1990's)
Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
total
