- Outline of Belarus
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The Flag of BelarusThe Coat of arms of Belarus
The location of Belarus
An enlargeable map of the Republic of BelarusSee also: Index of Belarus-related articlesThe Republic of Belarus is a landlocked sovereign country located in Eastern Europe.[1][2] Belarus borders Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. A third of the country is forested, and agriculture and manufacturing are its strongest economic sectors.
Until the 20th century, the Belarusians lacked the opportunity to evolve a distinctive national identity, since the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. After the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic (1918–19), Belarus became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Byelorussian SSR. The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on July 27, 1990, and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on August 25, 1991. Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994. During his presidency, Lukashenko has implemented Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of the economy, despite objections from Western governments. Since 1996, Belarus has been negotiating with Russia to unify into a single state called the Union of Russia and Belarus.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Belarus:
General reference
An enlargeable basic map of Belarus- Pronunciation: /bɛləˈruːs/ (
listen) - Common English country name: Belarus
- Official English country name: The Republic of Belarus
- Common endonym(s):
- Official endonym(s):
- Adjectival(s): Belarusian
- Demonym(s):
- Etymology: Name of Belarus
- International rankings of Belarus
- ISO country codes: BY, BLR, 112
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:BY
- Internet country code top-level domain: .by
Geography of Belarus
Main article: Geography of Belarus- Belarus is: a landlocked country
- Location:
- Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
- Eurasia
- Time zone: Eastern European Time (UTC+02), Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+03)
- Extreme points of Belarus
- High: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m (1,135 ft)
- Low: Neman River 90 m (295 ft)
- Land boundaries: 3,306 km
- Population of Belarus: 9,689,800(2008) - 86th most populous country
- Area of Belarus: 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) - 85th largest country
- Atlas of Belarus
Environment of Belarus
An enlargeable satellite image of BelarusMain article: Environment of Belarus- Climate of Belarus
- Environmental issues in Belarus
- Ecoregions in Belarus
- Renewable energy in Belarus
- Geology of Belarus
- Protected areas of Belarus
- Wildlife of Belarus
- Flora of Belarus
- Fauna of Belarus
Natural geographic features of Belarus
Regions of Belarus
- Main article: Regions of Belarus
Administrative divisions of Belarus
- Main article: Administrative divisions of Belarus
- Provinces of Belarus
Provinces of Belarus
Main article: Provinces of Belarus- Minsk
- Brest Province
- Homyel Province
- Hrodna Province
- Mahilyow Province
- Minsk Province
- Vitsebsk Province
Districts of Belarus
There are 118 districts in Belarus.
Municipalities of Belarus
Main article: Municipalities of BelarusDemography of Belarus
- Main article: Demographics of Belarus
Government and politics of Belarus
Belarus 
This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Belarus
- Pronunciation: /bɛləˈruːs/ (
