rom 1986 nuclear reactor accident at
Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
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; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of
Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is
geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite,
dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay

People Belarus

Population:
10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 36.9 years
male: 34.2 years
female: 39.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.11% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years
female: 74.65 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
15,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups:
Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%

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

Languages:
Belarusian, Russian, other

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

Government Belarus

Cou