207,600 sq km

land: 207,600 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: 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)

Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between
continental and maritime

Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland

Elevation extremes: 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%

permanent pastures: 15%

forests and woodland: 34%

other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use;
southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986
nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note: landlocked

Belarus People

Population: 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210)

15-64 years: 68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290)

65 years and over: 13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.15% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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: 0.49 male(s)/female

total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.14 years

male: 62.06 years

female: 74.52 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.28% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 14,000 (1999