no economic activity

@Bassas da India:Transportation

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claimed by Madagascar
______________________________________________________________________

BELARUS

@Belarus:Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
total: 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, Environmental Modification, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: landlocked

@Belarus:People

Population: 10,412,219 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 1,092,760; female 1,047,992)
15-64 years : 66% (male 3,346,111; female 3,547,352)
65 years and over: 13% (male 452,267; female 925,737) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.01% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 9.75 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 13.23 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 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