![beloblst[1].gif (10548 bytes)](images/beloblst1.gif)
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Location: | Eastern Europe, east of Poland, west of Russia |
| Geographic coordinates: | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Area: | 207,600 sq. km |
| Land boundaries: | 3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate: | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Terrain: | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Population: | 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups: | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Religions: | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Languages: | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
| Capital City: | Minsk (pop 1.7 million) |
| Currency: | Byelorussian ruble (EEK) |
