Belarus is situated in the central part of Europe. The total area is 207,600 square kilometers. Belarus is the thirteenth biggest country in Europe and sixth in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Belarus shares border with Lithuania in the north-west, Latvia in the north, Russia in the north-east and east, Ukraine in the south and Poland in the west. The length of the state border is nealry 3,000 kilometers.

The population of Belarus is 9,663,500 as of June 1, 2009 - the fifteenth biggest country in Europe. The average density of population is 48 people per 1 square kilometer.

The country is divided into six administrative territories: Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev oblasts and 118 districts.

The capital city of Belarus is Minsk.

Belarus has a favorable geographical position. The country is a crossing point of major trans-European railway and road routes, oil and gas pipelines, water and air routes between the economically developed Western Europe and the commodity-rich Asia. Transit routes pass through the country to connect Russia with Eastern and Western European countries, Ukraine and Moldova with the Baltic states and with the north-western parts of Russia.

The official languages in Belarus are Belarusian and Russian.

The main religion is Christianity (Orthodoxy and Catholicism).

The national holiday is Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus (Republic Day, July 3).

The currrency is the Belarusian ruble (payment means of the National Bank of Belarus).

There are more than 15,000 historic, cultural, and architectural sites and memorable places connected with the birth and life of the world-famous people.