Part 10
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (1998 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.4% (1998 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,200 (1998 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4.9% industry: 15.6% services: 79.5% (1997)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1998)
Labor force: 136,000 (1998 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12% (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: $725.5 million expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.)
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Industrial production growth rate: 0.8% (1996)
Electricity - production: 672 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 625 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton
Exports: $211.2 million (1998)
Exports - commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing
Exports - partners: UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998)
Imports: $1.01 billion (1998)
Imports - commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Imports - partners: US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998)
Debt - external: $550 million (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $9.1 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Barbados:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 90,000 (1995)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,614 (1995)
Telephone system: domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 237,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997)
Televisions: 76,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)
@Barbados:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 1,600 km paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (1998 est.)
Ports and harbors: Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)
Merchant marine: total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 654,580 GRT/1,103,780 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 29, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 2 (1999 est.) note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries: Canada owns 2 ships, Hong Kong 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1999 est.)
@Barbados:Military
Military branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 77,789 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 53,472 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
@Barbados:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
______________________________________________________________________
BASSAS DA INDIA
@Bassas da India:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from Madagascar to Mozambique
Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 39 50 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 0.2 sq km land: 0.2 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: about one-third the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 35.2 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: volcanic rock
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 2.4 m
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all rock)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: maritime hazard since it is usually under water during high tide and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
Environment - current issues: NA
@Bassas da India:People
Population: uninhabited (July 2000 est.)
@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
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:Introduction
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 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 but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord.
@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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: landlocked
@Belarus:People
Population: 10,366,719 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (male 982,959; female 942,062) 15-64 years: 68% (male 3,411,684; female 3,614,453) 65 years and over: 13% (male 466,929; female 948,632) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.17% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 9.27 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 13.96 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68 years male: 61.83 years female: 74.48 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic groups: Byelorussian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9%
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.)
@Belarus:Government
Country name: 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
Data code: BO
Government 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: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses
Independence: 25 August 1991 (Belarusian Supreme Soviet declaration of independence from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - represents Minsk liberation from German occupation
Constitution: 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996
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) head of government: Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18 November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Vasiliy DOLGOLEV (since 2 December 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir ZAMETALIN (since 15 July 1997), Ural LATYPOV (since 30 December 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; eight appointed by the president and 56 indirectly elected by deputies of local councils for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; note - present members came from the former Supreme Soviet which LUKASHENKO disbanded in November 1996) elections: last held May and November-December 1995 (two rounds, each with a run-off; disbanded after the November 1996 referendum; next to be held NA) election results: after the November 1996 referendum, seats for the Chamber of Representatives were filled by former Supreme Soviet members as follows: PKB 24, Agrarian 14, Party of Peoples Concord 5, LDPB 1, UPNAZ 1, Green World Party 1, Belarusian Social Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, independents 61; 58 of the 64 seats in the Council of the Republic have been appointed/elected
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president; Constitutional Court, half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party [Aleksandr PAVLOV, acting chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Green Party or BPZ ; Belarusian Labor Party or BPP ; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR ; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF ; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP ; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hramada ; Belarusian Social Sports Party or BSSP ; Belarusian Socialist Party ; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB ; Ecological Party or BEP ; Liberal-Democratic Party or LDPB ; Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord or UPNAZ ; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB ; Party of Popular Accord or PPA ; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS ; Women's Party Nadezhda International organization participation: CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Valery TSEPAKO chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 986-1604 FAX: (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel V. SPECKHARD embassy: Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: (17) 231-5000 FAX: (17) 234-7853
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 the Belarusian national ornament in red
@Belarus:Economy
Economy - overview: Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO re-imposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $55.2 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.5% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,300 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 23% industry: 28% services: 49% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: 22% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 295% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 4.3 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 2.3% officially registered unemployed (December 1998); large number of underemployed workers
Budget: revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, TV sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate: 8% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 21.893 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.89% hydro: 0.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 28.66 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 2.3 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 10.6 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Exports: $6 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998)
Imports: $6.4 billion (c.i.f., 1999)
Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998)
Debt - external: $1.1 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $194.3 million (1995)
Currency: Belarusian rubel (BR)
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (2nd qtr 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996), 11,500 (yearend 1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Belarus:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.537 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,000 (1999)
Telephone system: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE) and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios: 3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 17 (1997)
Televisions: 2.52 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (1999)
@Belarus:Transportation
Railways: total: 5,563 km broad gauge: 5,563 km 1.520-m gauge (894 km electrified)
Highways: total: 63,355 km paved: 60,567 km unpaved: 2,788 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Mazyr
Airports: 118 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 82 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 62 (1996 est.)
@Belarus:Military
Military branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,714,420 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,126,655 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 82,720 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $156 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY98)
@Belarus:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe
______________________________________________________________________
BELGIUM
@Belgium:Introduction
Background: Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.
@Belgium:Geography
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 30,510 sq km land: 30,230 sq km water: 280 sq km
Area - comparative: about the size of Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 1,385 km border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
Coastline: 66 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: median line with neighbors exclusive fishing zone: median line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast) territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: North Sea 0 m highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m
Natural resources: coal, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 21% other: 34%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: flooding is a threat in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes
Environment - current issues: the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, intense animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries; uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now resolved) have impeded progress in tackling environmental challenges
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of both the EU and NATO
@Belgium:People
Population: 10,241,506 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (male 919,445; female 877,896) 15-64 years: 66% (male 3,386,193; female 3,334,081) 65 years and over: 16% (male 701,842; female 1,022,049) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.18% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 10.91 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.8 years male: 74.47 years female: 81.3 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.61 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belgian(s) adjective: Belgian
Ethnic groups: Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
Languages: Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA%
@Belgium:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium conventional short form: Belgium local long form: Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk Belgie local short form: Belgique/Belgie
Data code: BE
Government type: federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch
Capital: Brussels
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Flemish: provincien, singular - provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams Brabant, West-Vlaanderen note: the Brussels Capital Region is not included within the 10 provinces
Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King LEOPOLD I to the throne in 1831)
Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state
Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent Prince PHILIPPE, son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Guy VERHOFSTADT (since 13 July 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch and approved by Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch and then approved by Parliament note: government coalition - VLD, PRL, PS, SP, AGALEV, and ECOLO
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 June 1999 (next to be held in NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - VLD 15.4%, CVP 14.7%, PRL 10.6%, PS 9.7%, VB 9.4%, SP 8.9%, ECOLO 7.4%, AGALEV 7.1%, PSC 6.0%, VU 5.1%; seats by party - VLD 11, CVP 10, PS 10, PRL 9, VB 6, SP 6, ECOLO 6, AGALEV 5, PSC 5, VU 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - VLD 14.3%, CVP 14.1%, PS 10.2%, PRL 10.1%, VB 9.9%, SP 9.5%, ECOLO 7.4%, AGALEV 7.0%, PSC 5.9%, VU 5.6%; seats by party - VLD 23, CVP 22, PS 19, PRL 18, VB 15, SP 14, ECOLO 11, PSC 10, AGALEV 9, VU 8, FN 1 note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments each with its own legislative assembly; for other acronyms of the listed parties see Political parties and leaders
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie in Dutch, Cour de Cassation in French, judges are appointed for life by the Belgian monarch
Political parties and leaders: AGALEV (Flemish Greens) [Wilfried BERVOETS]; ECOLO (Francophone Greens) ; Flemish Christian Democrats or CVP (Christian People's Party) [Stefaan DE CLERCK, president]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Karel DE GUCHT, president]; Flemish Socialist Party or SP [Patrick JANSSENS, president]; Francophone Christian Democrats or PSC (Social Christian Party) ; Francophone Democratic Front or FDF ; Francophone Liberal Reformation Party or PRL ; Francophone Socialist Party or PS ; National Front or FN ; Vlaams Blok or VB ; Volksunie or VU [Geert BOURGEOIS, president]; other minor parties