| Official Name | Republic of Belarus |
| Capital | Minsk (approx 1.8 mln population) |
| Population | 9.480 mln (in Jan. 2009) |
| Official Languages | Belarusian and Russian |
| Area | 207,600 sq. kms. |
| Population density | 50 persons per sq.km. |
| Other major cities | Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogilov, Grodno, Brest |
| Political structure | Belarus is a Presidential Republic. Under the Constitution in force since 27 November 1996, the President is the executive Head of the State and the guarantor of the Constitution. His Excellency President Alexander LUKASHENKO has been re-elected for a third term in March 2006. The Prime Minister is nominated by the President and the Parliament approves or rejects the nomination. The bicameral National Assembly [Parliament] consists of 110 Members’ House of Representatives [Lower House] and 64 Members’ Council of the Republic [Upper House] |
| Prime Minister | H.E. Mr. SERGEI SIDORSKI |
| Foreign Minister | H.E. Mr. SERGEI MARTYNOV
[Ministry of Foreign Affairs also handles Foreign Trade] |
| Chairman of the Council of Republic | H.E. Mr. BORIS BATURA [Upper House] |
| Chairman of the House of Representatives | H.E. Mr. VLADIMIR P. ANDREICHENKO [Lower House] |
| Industry Minister | H.E. Mr. ALIAKSANDR M. RADEVICH
[Co-Chairman of the Indo-Belarus Joint Commission] |
| National Day | 3 July [Day of Belarus’ liberation from Nazi occupation during the World War –II] |
| Major Industries | Manufacture of road and building construction & agro-machinery [tractors, harvesters, trucks, dumpers etc.], electronic durables [computers, TVs, refrigerators, watches etc.], bicycles, machine tools, chemicals, fertilizers, garments, foodstuffs, timber glass etc. |
| Agriculture | Potato, grain [barley, rye] and flax; livestock farming is dominated by pig-breeding and cattle breeding |
| | |
| MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATORS | In 2009: GDP - growth rate 0.2% (2009 est.)
Total GDP (nominal) US$ 48.984 billion (2009)
Inflation – around 10.1%
Exchange rate - 1 US $ = 2792 Belarusian Ruble [11.3.2010]
Unemployment rate: 0.9%
Forex reserves and gold - Over US$ 5.653 billion (as on 01.01.2010)
Gross foreign debt - US$ 19.3 billion (as on 01.10.2009)
(Source: Belarus Ministry for Statistics and Analysis) |
Belarus - Fact Sheet