Belarus is approximately 207,600 square kilometres in size. It is a hilly landscape with many lakes and gently sloping ridges created by glaciers in north; low-lying swampy plain in south. One-third of country covered by unpopulated forest tracts. Highest point 346 meters.

Health care for the population of Belarus (over 10 million - in decline) is provided by state, mostly free of charge. System overwhelmed by victims of the Chernobyl accident. Infant mortality rate 18.9 per 1,000 live births (1994). Life expectancy (1994) 66.2 years for males and 75.8 years for females. Modern medical equipment and facilities in short supply. In 1994 about 127 hospital beds and forty-two doctors per 10,000 inhabitants.

After the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster on April 26, 1986, some 70 percent of the radiation spewed was carried by the wind to Belarus, where it affected at least 25 percent of the country--especially the Homyel' (Gomel' in Russian) and Mahilyow (Mogilëv in Russian) voblastsi, or counties, in the south and southeast, and 22 percent of the population.

Although more than 2 million people (including 600,000 children) lived in areas affected by fallout from the disaster, the government tried to cover up the accident until Swedish scientists pressed for an explanation of the unusually high levels of atmospheric radiation in Sweden.

The Belorusian government's request to the Soviet government for a minimum of 17 billion rubles to deal with the consequences was answered with Moscow's offer of only 3 billion rubles. According to one official in 1993, the per capita expenditure on the accident was one kopek in Russia, three kopeks in Ukraine, and one ruble (100 kopeks) in Belarus.

The long-range effects of the disaster include an increasing incidence of various kinds of cancer and birth defects; congenital defects in newborns are reported to be 40 percent higher than before the accident. Tainted water, livestock, farm produce, and land are widespread, and the extensive wetlands retain high concentrations of radiation. Cleanup of the disaster accounted for 14 percent of the state budget in 1995. Other environmental problems include widespread chemical pollution of the soil, which shows excessive pesticide levels, and the industrial pollution found in nearly all the large cities.