Belarus
Belarus (officially Republic of Belarus) is a country in Eastern Europe, with its capital at Minsk, and is home to roughly 9.1M people.
Its official languages are Belarusian, Russian; the currency in circulation is Belarusian ruble (Br); people from here are called Belarusian.
> INTEL_
> NOTABLE_
- »Nearly half the country is forested. Białowieża, shared with Poland, is one of the last remnants of primeval lowland forest in Europe.
> BORDERS_
Belarus touches five neighbours: Latvia to the northwest, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to the west, Russia to the northeast and Ukraine to the southeast. Directions run from one centre to the other.
> THE CAPITAL_
Minsk was almost entirely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt in monumental Stalinist style, which is why its centre reads as a single planned composition.
> SCALE_
206,623 km² (79,778 sq mi), 84th largest of 198 countries and territories on file, almost exactly the size of Guyana.
Population 9,132,629, 99th of 198 on file. That averages 44 per km² (114 per sq mi).
> THE FLAG_
The red and green bands date to the Soviet era; the vertical ornamental pattern on the hoist is a traditional Belarusian woven design.