Belarus

C

Natural Resources

Mineral resources in the republic are not abundant with the exception of deposits of potassium salts, which are considered to be the second largest in Europe and are used in fertilizer manufacture. There are some deposits of oil and natural gas, but they are not fully exploited. The disaster at Chernobyl seriously affected the utilization of peat reserves, as radioactive contamination has made peat unsafe for incineration and agricultural use.

D

Plants and Animals

Forests cover about 30 per cent of the land area. Pine, fir, and birch predominate in the north, and oak, elm, and white beech are prevalent in the south. Wild boar and elk can be found in the forests, while beaver are abundant in the wetlands. Wisents (European bison), once plentiful in Belarus, are now endangered and protected by government decree. The largest herd of bison in Europe, amounting to some 300 head, is in the Belavezhskaya Forest.

E

Environmental Concerns

The cities of Belarus are heavily polluted, especially industrial centres such as Salihorsk and Navapolatsk, largely because of the development of heavy industries in the years following World War II. Motor vehicle exhausts account for about half the air pollution in the cities. While Belarus was a part of the USSR, government controls on industrial pollution were virtually non-existent. In recent years the government has turned its attention to the problem, although somewhat belatedly. Energy conservation and recycling have yet to be implemented in any sustained manner.

The most serious environmental problem in Belarus is the contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear power station in northern Ukraine. More than 60 per cent of the high-level radioactive fallout of caesium, strontium, and plutonium that was spewed into the atmosphere landed in Belarus, affecting about one-fifth of its territory and more than two million of its people. Long-lived radioisotopes then settled in the soil, posing a long-term danger to groundwater, livestock, and produce. More than 160,000 Belorussians were evacuated from their homes in the most heavily contaminated regions of Homel, Mahilyow, and Brest. In the villages in the contaminated zones, food and other goods are now in short supply and radiation-linked diseases are on the rise.

Belarus is an extensively wooded country but little of the country's woodland is protected; in total, 4.2 per cent of Belarus's land area is protected. Biodiversity, soil pollution, and other related issues are areas of concern. The government has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to air pollution, biodiversity, environmental modification, marine dumping, nuclear test ban, and ozone layer protection.

III

Population

The population of Belarus was devastated by World War II. It took 25 years for the numbers to return to pre-war levels. After World War II, Belarus, traditionally an agrarian society, underwent rapid urbanization. The proportion of urban dwellers more than doubled from 1959 to 1994, from 31 per cent to 68 per cent. By 2005 the urban population was 72 per cent of the total.

A

Population Characteristics

Belorussians comprise more than three-quarters of the total population of 9,685,768 (2008 estimate), which gives a population density of 47 people per sq km (121 per sq mi). Life expectancy at birth in 2008 was 70.3 years (males 64.6, females 76.4). Russians are the largest minority with 13.2 per cent of the population. Other minorities include Ukrainians, Jews, Poles, and Lithuanians.