What You May Wish to Know About Belarus

The Republic of Belarus is a dynamically developing European State. The results of 2003 convincingly prove the sustainable development of Belarusian economy and confirm the correctness of the chosen socio-economic model.

In comparison with 2002:

• GDP grew 6.8 percent. Between 1996 and 2003 the average GDP growth was over 6 percent in Belarus, exceeding that of most of other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries (except Azerbaijan and Armenia);
• industrial and agricultural production rose 6.8 percent;
• foreign trade in goods and services grew 24 percent;
• foreign investment in Belarusian economy grew 1.8 times, amounting to $1.3 billion, including 2.3 times growth in the amount of foreign investment which made up $675 million;
• the real income of the population (adjusted to the consumer price indices) grew 3.4 percent.

Many social and economic indicators place Belarus favorably among other CIS countries and countries with economy in transition:

• according to the Economic Survey of Europe 2004 No 1, prepared by the UN Economic Commission for Europe, in 2002 Belarus surpassed all CIS countries and many countries with economies in transition (Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia) by GDP volume per capita;
• according to the same survey, Belarus had the lowest (after Slovenia and Croatia) percent of the population living in poverty and extreme poverty among CIS, countries of Central and Eastern Europe;
• Belarus is a leader among all CIS countries by house-building: 33 million square feet of living floor space was put into operation in 2003, it exceeds by 7.7 percent the level of 2002, and this is the highest level over the last 3 years;
• average salary in Belarus is $139 per month, higher than in most of other CIS countries (except Russia and Kazakhstan);
• Belarus is the only CIS country where arrears of wages have almost been paid off;
• according to the World Health Organization, Belarus by general indicators of health system is 53rd in the world out of 191 states, leaving behind all CIS countries (for comparison, Russia - 100, Ukraine - 60, Latvia - 67);
• the World Health Organization statistics of 2002 shows that average life expectancy in Belarus (68.3 years) is longer than in other CIS countries (except Georgia - 71.7 and Armenia - 70);
• Belarus is much more advanced than other countries of the region in implementing such goal of development as the eradication of poverty, set in the UN Millennium Declaration. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs states that under 2 percent of population in Belarus live in extreme poverty (under $1 per day per person), whereas such figure in Russia is 6 percent, in Ukraine - 3 percent, in Moldova - 22 percent, in Uzbekistan - 19 percent, in Turkmenistan - 12 percent, in Bulgaria - 5 percent, etc.;
• Report on the World Social Situation 2003, prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, indicated that in 2002 Belarus had one of the world lowest levels of unemployment of able-bodied population - just 2 percent (in Russia this level was 11 percent. in Ukraine - 12 percent, in Kazakhstan - 14 percent, in Lithuania - 17 percent, in Latvia - 8 percent, in Poland - 17 percent;
• Transition Report 2003 of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development notes that Belarus has the lowest level of corruption among CIS countries;
• in accordance with the EBRD Transition Report 2003, foreign debt of Belarus in 2002 made up 5.7 percent of GDP - the lowest level among CIS countries;
• according to the International Telecommunications Union data, published before the World Summit on the Information Society, Belarus is 66th in the world by the digital access index in the world chart of the development of information technologies, surpassing almost all CIS countries (except Russia).

The data of the Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States covering 2003 demonstrates that:

• Belarus is a leader among CIS countries in the degree of the openness of economy, having the highest ratio of exports to the GDP (60 percent). In Russia this figure is 30.8 percent, in Kazakhstan - 43, in Ukraine - 46, average in the CIS - 33.8 percent.
• occupying 1 percent of CIS territory and having 3.5 percent of the CIS population, Belarus ranks third by the volume of foreign trade (after Russia and Ukraine);
• Belarus, together with Russia, is leader among CIS countries by industrial production per capita;
• Belarus produced more agricultural products per capita than any other CIS country, the level of production being 1,5 times higher than average in the CIS;
• Belarus is first among CIS countries by production of basic foodstuffs per capita, including meat, milk, diary products, animal oil, potatoes, vegetables, eggs, and sugar.

The contribution of Belarusian sportsmen to improving the image of the country in the world is considerable. In 2003 Belarusian athletes took part in 827 largest international competitions, and won 3999 medals, including 118 gold, 127 silver, and 154 bronze medals. By total results of participation in world championships on Olympic disciplines, total number of sports medals Belarus ranks 13th among more than 200 countries.