With 9.5 million inhabitants, Belarus is a middle-size European country covering a total area of 207,600 km²: slightly smaller than the United Kingdom, five times larger than the Netherlands and Switzerland. The maximum distance from west to east is 560 km, while 650 km is the maximum distance from north to south. The country has over 11,000 lakes and 91,000 km of rivers, with significant areas of marshland.