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: 87

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas
Area comparison map: 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 1,312 km, Ukraine 1,111 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 ]
elevation extremes: 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% arable land 27.2%; permanent crops 0.6%; permanent pasture 15.9%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 42.7%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 13.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other 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