Belarus Travel HD Videos

National Name: Respublika Byelarus'

Languages: Belarusian (official) 23.4%, Russian (official) 70.2%, other 3.1% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 3.3% (2009 est.)

Ethnicity/race: Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)

Religion: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

National Holiday: Independence Day, July 3

Literacy rate: 99.6% (2009 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $69.24 billion; per capita $16,100. Real growth rate: 2.1%. Inflation: 19%. Unemployment: 1% (2009 est.) officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers. Arable land: 26.63%. Agriculture: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk. Labor force: 5 million (2009); agriculture 9.4%, industry 45.9%, services 44.7% (2003 est.). Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators. Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay. Exports: $45.17 billion (2013 est.): machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs. Imports: $45.17 billion (2012 est.): mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals. Major trading partners: Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, China, Latvia (2012).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 4.407 million (2012); mobile cellular: 10.675 (2012). Broadcast media: 4 state-controlled national TV channels; Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas; state-run Belarusian Radio operates 3 national networks and an external service; Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2007). Internet hosts: 295,217 (2012). Internet users: 2.643 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 5,537 km (2008). Highways: total: 86,392 km (2010). Waterways: 2,500 km (major rivers are the west-flowing Western Dvina and Neman rivers and the south-flowing Dnepr River and its tributaries, the Berezina, Sozh, and Pripyat rivers) (2011). Ports and harbors: Mazyr. Airports: 65 (2013).

Transportation: Railways: total: 5,512 km (2004). Highways: total: 79,990 km; paved: 69,351 km; unpaved: 10,639 km (2004). Waterways: 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003). Ports and harbors: Mazyr. Airports: 101 (2005).

Read more: Belarus: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities http://www.infoplease.com/country/belarus.html?pageno=7#ixzz3WnKDNZND