Belarusian ruble (ISO-code BYR, before 2000 - BYB) is the official currency of Belarus. ... Headquarters Minsk, Belarus Member states 11 member states 1 associate member Working language Russian Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushailo Formation December 21, 1991 Official website http://cis. ... An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the United States. ... The driver of this DAF tractor with an auto-transport semi-trailer prepares to offload Å koda Octavia cars in Cardiff, Wales For other meanings, see Truck (disambiguation). ... A 125 cc motorcycle, the Italian-manufactured Cagiva Planet. ... spreading manure, an organic fertiliser Fertilizers or fertilisers are compounds given to plants with the intention of promoting growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves. ... This article is about the type of fabric. ... Refrigeration (from the Latin frigus, frost) is generally the cooling of a body by the transfer of a portion of its heat away from it. ...

Overview

After the collapse of the Soviet Union all former Soviet republics faced a deep economic crisis. Belarus has however chosen its own way of overcoming this crisis. After the 1994 election of Alexander Lukashenko as the first President, he launched the country on the path of "market socialism" as opposed to what Lukashenko considered "wild capitalism" chosen by Russia at that time. In keeping with this policy, administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates were introduced. Also the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise was expanded. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko or Alaksandar Ryhoravič Lukashenka (Belarusian: , Russian: ) (born August 30, 1954) has been the President of Belarus since 1994. ... Market socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are owned by the workers in each company (meaning in general that profits in each company are distributed between them: profit sharing) and the production is not centrally planned but mediated through the market. ...

In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-1999 and trade deficits. Also as Belorussian economy has rather tight connections with Russian economy, the default of 1998 strike hard both of them. In the 1990s povetry became a significant problem. Recearch carried out in Belarus in 1996 under the support of the World Bank showed that the number of poor has sharply increased from 5 % in 1992 to 22% in 1995. According to the official statistics, 26,7% of urban population and 33,6% of rural population were below the poverty line in 2001 ([2], [3], [4]). 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

However, efforts of Belorussian government and some favourable factors such as the Union with Russia which opened vast markets for Belorussian goods and also allowed Belarus to buy oil and gas at Russia's internal price, allowed Belarus to bypass the severe economic hardships and crises that many former Soviet Union transition economies encountered. It resulted in the economic growth seen in recent years. According to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2006 report Belarus registers major economic growth: GDP growth rate as low as 3% in 1999 showed 11% (2-nd place in CIS) in 2004 and 8,5% (4-th place after Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan - oil and gas exporters - and Armenia) in 2005. In terms of GDP growth rate Belarus also outperforms neighbouring Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Major problem in mid-1990 - inflation, as high as 300% in 1999 constantly decreases, showing 12% in 2005 (which is higher than Russia's 11.5% but lower than Ukraine's 14.5%). UN experts forecast inflation in 2006 will continue to decrease, reaching 10.5% (UN Report)

In greater depth

As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base; it retained this industrial base following the break-up of the U.S.S.R. The country also has a broad agricultural base and a high education level. Among the former republics of the Soviet Union, it had one of the highest standards of living. But Belarusians now face the difficult challenge of moving from a state-run economy with high priority on military production and heavy industry to a civilian, free-market system.

After an initial outburst of capitalist reform from 1991-1994, including privatization of state enterprises, creation of institutions of private property, and entrepreneurship, Belarus under Lukashenko has greatly slowed its pace of privatization and other market reforms, emphasizing the need for a "socially oriented market economy." About 80% of all industry remains in state hands, and foreign investment has been hindered by a climate hostile to business. The banks, which had been privatized after independence, were renationalized under Lukashenko. In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ...

Economic output, which declined for several years, revived somewhat in the late 1990s, but the economy remains dependent on Russian subsidies. Until 2000, subsidies to state enterprises and price controls on industrial and consumer staples constituted a major feature of the Belarusian economy. Inflationary monetary practices, including the printing of money also has been regularly used to finance real sector growth and to cover the payment of salaries and pensions. Seinfeld was a pop cultural phenomenon during the 90s and became one of the most popular TV programs ever. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... An example of Money. ...

Peat, the country's most valuable mineral resource, is used for fuel and fertilizer and in the chemical industry. Belarus also has deposits of clay, sand, chalk, dolomite, phosphorite, and rock and potassium salt. Forests cover about a third of the land, and lumbering is an important occupation. Potatoes, flax, hemp, sugarbeets, rye, oats, and wheat are the chief agricultural products. Dairy and beef cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised. Belarus has only small reserves of petroleum and natural gas and imports most of its oil and gas from Russia. The main branches of industry produce tractors and trucks, earth movers for use in construction and mining, metal-cutting machine tools, agricultural equipment, motorcycles, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, and consumer goods. The chief trading partners are Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Germany. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of natural clays. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is an example of a class of materials called granular matter. ... The Needles, part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation For other uses, see Chalk (disambiguation). ... Dolomite crystals from Touissite, Morocco Dolomite is the name of both a carbonate rock and a mineral consisting of calcium magnesium carbonate (formula: CaMg(CO3)2) found in crystals. ... Apatite is a group of minerals, usually referring to: hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of OH-, F-, or Cl- ions, respectively, in the crystal lattice. ... Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with formula NaCl. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 39. ... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) In chemistry, a salt is any ionic compound composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. ... Lumber is the name used, generally in North America, for wood that has been cut into boards or other shapes for the purpose of woodworking or construction. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, commonly grown for its starchy tuber. ... Binomial name Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus. ... This is one of several related articles about cannabis. ... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Binomial name Secale cereale M.Bieb. ... Binomial name Avena sativa Carolus Linnaeus (1753) The Oat (Avena sativa) is a species of cereal grain, and the seeds of this plant. ... Species T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Dairy farm near Oxford, New York A dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk (mostly from cows, sometimes from buffalo, sheep or goats) and other farm animals, for human consumption. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, kine archaic, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Species Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. ... Trinomial name Gallus gallus domesticus A chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a type of domesticated bird which is often raised as a type of poultry. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Many stoves use natural gas. ...

The massive nuclear accident (April 26, 1986) at the Chernobyl power plant, across the border in Ukraine, had a devastating effect on Belarus; as a result of the radiation release, agriculture in a large part of the country was destroyed, and many villages were abandoned. Resettlement and medical costs were substantial and long-term. April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chernobyl area. ...

In 2000, Belarus managed to unify its currency exchange rates, tightened its monetary policy, and partially liberalized the foreign currency market. These developments led to the conclusion of a staff-monitored program in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, addressing, among other topics price and wage liberalization, a widening of privatization, fiscal reform, the adoption of international accounting standards in the banking sector, and the repeal of several egregious laws and decrees to improve the investment climate. The program was conducted between April and September 2001, with relatively disappointing results. The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

The World Bank is currently considering a new country assistance strategy for Belarus, focusing on areas such as targeted social assistance, AIDS/HIV and tuberculosis prevention, environmental protection, Chernobyl-related damage, and small and medium enterprise development. In June 2001, the World Bank approved a loan of $22.6 million to finance repairs in over 450 schools, hospitals, and homes for orphans, the elderly and the disabled throughout Belarus. Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means... The Red ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with... Human immunodeficiency virus (commonly known as HIV, and formerly known as HTLV-III and lymphadenopathy-associated virus) is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system such as CD4+ T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. ... Tuberculosis (commonly abbreviated as TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...

Environmental issues

Belarus has established ministries of energy, forestry, land reclamation, and water resources and state committees to deal with ecology and safety procedures in the nuclear power industry. The most serious environmental issue in Belarus results from the accident at the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant. About 70% of the nuclear fallout from the plant landed on Belarusian territory, and about 25% of the land is considered uninhabitable. But government restrictions on residence and use of contaminated land are not strictly enforced. As noted, the government receives USA assistance in its efforts to deal with the consequences of the radiation. Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chernobyl area. ... ... The radiation warning symbol (trefoil). ...

Other statistics

Investment (gross fixed): 24.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

• lowest 10%: 5.1%
• highest 10%: 20% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 21.7 (1998) The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper Variabilità e mutabilità. It is usually used to measure income inequality, but can be used to measure any form of uneven distribution. ...

Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Industrial production growth rate: 15,6% (2005 est.)

Electricity:

• production: 30 TWh (2004)
• consumption: 34.3 TWh (2004)
• exports: 0.8 TWh (2004)
• imports: 3.2 TWh (2003), mainly from Russia and Lithuania [5]

Electricity - production by source: The terawatt hour (TW·h) is a unit for measuring energy. ...

• fossil fuel: 99.5%
• hydro: 0.1%
• other: 0.4% (2001)
• nuclear: 0%

Oil:

• production: 36,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
• consumption: 285,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
• exports: 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
• imports: 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Natural gas:

• production: 250 million cu m (2004 est.)
• consumption: 18.8 billion cu m (2004 est.)
• exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)
• imports: 18.5 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $312.4 million (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs

Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $835.4 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external: $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.) June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,170 (2004), 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000)

References

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. 2000
• This article contains material from the US Department of State's Background Notes which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. 2003

World Factbook 2005 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Background Notes series is a collection of works by the United States Department of State. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• Economy of Europe