Economy

Before World War I, Belarus was an impoverished region, relying on subsistence farming and local trade. Following the war, small factories were built in the east and much of the farmland was organized into large collectives and state farms. After World War II, large-scale industrialization was begun.

Agriculture, which is accountable for about a fourth of the country’s economic output, is based mainly on commercial crops. Flax is grown for its fiber; barley, oats, rye, wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets are the mainstays of Belarus' food-processing industry. Large numbers of beef and dairy cattle, pigs, and poultry are raised.

Except for peat, potash, rock salts, and petroleum, Belarus is poorly endowed with minerals. The southern part of Belarus has a few deposits of coal.

Industry was devastated by World War II, but was rapidly rebuilt and greatly expanded during the postwar years. It centers mainly in Minsk and the cities of eastern Belarus, especially Gomel, Vitebsk, and Mogilev. Chief manufactured products include trucks, tractors, farm machinery, textiles, and food products. Automobiles, engineering equipment, metal-cutting tools, machine tools, computers and other electronic equipment, cement, glass, and chemicals, especially potassium fertilizer are also produced. Consumer goods, including bicycles, clocks and watches, motorcycles, refrigerators, and television sets are also manufactured in Belarus. Many wood products are also produced in Belarus, and these include furniture, matches, plywood, and paper goods.

Belarus’ major trading partners are Russia and Ukraine, as also Austria, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Belarus exports a huge amount of tractors, among other equipment to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

Railways link the principal cities and provide the main form of transportation. There is also a relatively well-developed road system, with highway networks connecting the cities of Belarus with major European cities. The major rivers carry a sizable amount of traffic. The Dnieper-Bug Canal links the Bug and Pripyat rivers, and together with other canals links the rivers of Belarus with ports on the Baltic and Black seas. The country's main airport is in Minsk.

There are 215 daily newspapers published in Belarus, of which about 130 are in the Belarusian language.