
Area: total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Population: 9,685,768 [July 2008 est.]
Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.4% [male 717,885/female 677,254]
15-64 years: 70.9% [male 3,333,699/female 3,531,920]
65 years and over: 14.7% [male 459,627/female 965,383] [2008 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]
Languages: Belarusian, Russian, other
Capital: name: Minsk
geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E
time difference: UTC+2 [7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time]
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March ends last Sunday in October
National holiday: 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 - composition by sector: agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 40.6%
services: 50.6% [2007 est.]
Labor force: 4.3 million [31 December 2005]
Budget: revenues: $20.76 billion
expenditures: $21.18 billion [2007 est.]
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax beef, milk
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Exports: $23.04 billion f.o.b. [2007 est.]
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% [2006]
Imports: $27.57 billion f.o.b. [2007 est.]
Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners: Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% [2006]
Currency (code): Belarusian ruble [BYB/BYR]
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 [2007], 2,144.6 [2006], 2,150 [2005], 2,160.26 [2004], 2,051.27 [2003]
Airports: 67 [2007]
Railways: total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge [874 km electrified]
standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m [2006]
Ports and terminals: Mazyr