nternational agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

@Bassas da India:People

Population: uninhabited

@Bassas da India:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bassas da India

Data code: BS

Dependency status: possession of France; administered by a high
commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion

Legal system: NA

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (possession of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (possession of France)

Flag description: the flag of France is used

@Bassas da India:Economy

Economy-overview: no economic activity

@Bassas da India:Transportation

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

@Bassas da India:Military

Military-note: defense is the responsibility of France

@Bassas da India: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

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