Location:
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates:
53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 207,600 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 202,900 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 4,700 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
87
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries:
total: 3,642 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (5):
Latvia 161 km, Lithuania 640 km, Poland 418 km, Russia 1312 km, Ukraine 1111 km
Coastline:
0 km
(landlocked)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
More Climate Details
Terrain:
generally flat with much marshland
Elevation:
mean elevation: 160 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m
highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources:
timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Land use:
agricultural land: 43.7%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 27.2%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.6%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 15.9%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 42.7%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 13.6%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]
Irrigated land:
1,140 sq km
(2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
Population distribution:
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
Natural hazards:
large tracts of marshy land
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-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
