Flag Description

red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red; the red band color recalls past struggles from oppression, the green band represents hope and the many forests of the country

Background:After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first directly elected president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.

Total Area: 207,600 sq km

Land Area:202,900 sq km

Water Area:4,700 sq km

Land Boundries Total:3,599 km

Border Countries:Latvia 161 km, Lithuania 640 km, Poland 375 km, Russia 1,312 km, Ukraine 1,111 km

Coastline:0 km (landlocked)

Lowest Point:Nyoman River 90 m

Highest Point:Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

Population:9,608,058 (July 2014 est.)

Population Growth Rate:-0.19% (2014 est.)

Religion:Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

Literacy(%):0.996

Literacy(%) Male:0.998

Literacy(%) Female:99.5% (2009 est.)

Independence Day:25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National Holiday:Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union

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