male 3,293,196)
65 years and over: 13% (female 913,508; male 443,322) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 12.98 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 11.23 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 18.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.03 years
male: 66.36 years
female: 75.93 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.87 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic divisions: Byelorussian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%,
Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9%

Religions: Eastern Orthodox, other

Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 96%

Labor force: 4.887 million
by occupation: industry and construction 40%, agriculture and forestry
21%, other 39% (1992)

@Belarus:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
local short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Digraph: BO

Type: republic

Capital: Minsk

Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one
municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest),
Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna),
Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk)
note: the administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in
parentheses

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)

Constitution: adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April
1978

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994);
election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14%
head of government: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since July 1994);
Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN, Viktor GONCHAR, Sergey LING,
Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH, Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

Legislative branch: unicameral