Belarus

Republic of Belarus Рэспубліка Беларусь (Belarusian) Республика Беларусь (Russian)
Flag National emblem
Anthem:  Дзяржаўны гімн Рэспублікі Беларусь (Belarusian) Dziaržaŭny himn Respubliki Bielaruś (English: State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus)
Location of  Belarus  (green) in Europe  (dark grey)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Minsk 53°55′N 27°33′E / 53.917°N 27.550°E / 53.917; 27.550
Official languages	Belarusian Russian
Ethnic groups	83.7% Belarusians 8.3% Russians 3.1% Poles 1.7% Ukrainians 3.2% Other
Demonym	Belarusian
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• President	Alexander Lukashenko
• Prime Minister	Andrei Kobyakov
Legislature	National Assembly
• Upper house	Council of the Republic
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Formation
• Principality of Polotsk	987
• Grand Duchy of Lithuania	c. 1236
• Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1 July 1569
• Russian Empire	1795
• Independence from the Russian SFSR; Belarusian People's Republic	25 March 1918
• Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR	17 February 1919
• Byelorussian SSR	31 July 1920
• Soviet annexation of Western Byelorussia	15 November 1939
• State Sovereignty Declaration	27 July 1990
• Independence from the USSR	25 August 1991
• Independence recognized	26 December 1991
• Current Constitution	15 March 1994
Area
• Total	207,595 km2 (80,153 sq mi) (85th)
• Water (%)	1.4% (2.830 km2 or 1.093 sq mi)
Population
• 2016 estimate	9,498,700
• Density	45.8/km2 (118.6/sq mi) (142nd)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$165.363 billion
• Per capita	$17,500
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$45.126 billion
• Per capita	$5,100
Gini (2011)	26.5 low · 11th
HDI (2014)	0.798 high · 50th
Currency	Belarusian ruble (BYN)
Time zone	FET(UTC+3)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on the	right
Calling code	+375
ISO 3166 code	BY
Internet TLD	.by .бел
^ Constitution of the Republic of Belarus Section 1, Article 17 ^ "FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture". FAO. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012.

Coordinates: 53°N 23°E / 53°N 23°E / 53; 23

in Europe  (dark grey)  –  [Legend]

Belarus (ⁱ/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOSS; Belarusian: Белару́сь, lat. Biełaruś, IPA: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ]; Russian: Беларусь, tr. Belaruś; IPA: [bʲɪlɐˈrusʲ]), officially the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Рэспубліка Беларусь; Russian: Республика Беларусь), formerly known by its Russian name Byelorussia (Russian: Белоруссия; though this name is no longer used in Belarus itself, even in Russian language), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. Over 40% of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested. Its strongest economic sectors are service industries and manufacturing. Until the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including the Principality of Polotsk (11th to 14th centuries), the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire.