After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics, and since 2022 Belarus has facilitated Russia’s war in Ukraine, which was launched in part from Belarusian territory. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place and negotiations on further integration have been contentious. Since his election in July 1994 as the country’s first and only directly elected president, Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on political and civil freedoms, freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion have remained in place. Restrictions on political freedoms have grown increasingly strained following the disputed presidential election in August 2020. The election results sparked largescale protests as members of the opposition and civil society criticized the election’s validity. Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA has remained in power as the disputed winner of the presidential election after quelling protests in late 2020.
land: 202,900 sq km
water: 4,700 sq km
border countries (5): Latvia 161 km; Lithuania 640 km; Poland 375 km; Russia 1,312 km; Ukraine 1,111 km
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
mean elevation: 160 m
arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.)
forest: 42.7% (2018 est.)
other: 13.6% (2018 est.)
9,383,853 (2023 est.)
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian
Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)
Russian (official) 71.4%, Belarusian (official) 26%, other 0.3% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 2.3% (2009 est.)
major-language sample(s):
Книга фактов о мире – незаменимый источник базовой информации. (Russian)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Orthodox 48.3%, Catholic 7.1%, other 3.5%, non-believers 41.1% (2011 est.)
0-14 years: 15.83% (male 764,281/female 721,632)
15-64 years: 66.81% (male 3,055,606/female 3,213,751)
65 years and over: 17.36% (2023 est.) (male 544,270/female 1,084,313)
total dependency ratio: 50.8
youth dependency ratio: 25.4
elderly dependency ratio: 25.4
potential support ratio: 3.9 (2021 est.)
total: 41.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 39.1 years
female: 44.6 years
-0.39% (2023 est.)
8.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
13.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2.057 million MINSK (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
26.8 years (2019 est.)
1 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 2.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 1.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 74.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 69.6 years
female: 79.9 years
1.45 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.7 (2023 est.)
52.6% (2019)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 99.6% of population
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0.4% of population
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
6.4% of GDP (2020)
4.54 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
10.8 beds/1,000 population (2014)
improved: urban: 99.9% of population
rural: 98.3% of population
total: 99.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population
rural: 1.7% of population
total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)
24.5% (2016)
total: 10.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 4.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 2.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 30.5% (2020 est.)
male: 47.4% (2020 est.)
female: 13.5% (2020 est.)
NA
66.6% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 0.1%
women married by age 18: 4.7%
men married by age 18: 1.6% (2019 est.)
4.7% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9%
male: 99.9%
female: 99.9% (2019)
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2021)
soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl’ in northern Ukraine
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.)
arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.)
forest: 42.7% (2018 est.)
other: 13.6% (2018 est.)
urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 15.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 58.28 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 17.19 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 4.28 million tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 684,800 tons (2016 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 16% (2016 est.)
Dnyapro (Dnieper) (shared with Russia [s] and Ukraine [m]) - 2,287 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Dnieper (533,966 sq km)
municipal: 550 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 410 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 370 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
57.9 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
declining Russian energy subsidies will end in 2024; growing public debt; strong currency pressures have led to higher inflation; recent price controls on basic food and drugs; public sector wage increases and fragile private sector threaten household income gains and economic growth
$184.482 billion (2021 est.)
$180.335 billion (2020 est.)
$181.605 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
2.3% (2021 est.)
-0.7% (2020 est.)
1.4% (2019 est.)
$19,800 (2021 est.)
$19,200 (2020 est.)
$19,300 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$63.168 billion (2019 est.)
9.46% (2021 est.)
5.55% (2020 est.)
5.6% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: B (2018)
Moody’s rating: B3 (2018)
Standard & Poors rating: B (2017)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 8.1% (2017 est.)
industry: 40.8% (2017 est.)
services: 51.1% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 54.8% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 14.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 24.9% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 5.7% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 67% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -67% (2017 est.)
milk, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, triticale, barley, maize, rye, rapeseed, poultry
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances
6.7% (2021 est.)
4.95 million (2021 est.)
4.74% (2021 est.)
4.77% (2020 est.)
4.16% (2019 est.)
note: official registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers
total: 11.3% (2021 est.)
male: 14%
female: 8.4%
5% (2019 est.)
24.4 (2020 est.)
on food: 32.3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 7.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 3.8%
highest 10%: 21.9% (2008)
revenues: $24.743 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $24.239 billion (2019 est.)
2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
33.24% of GDP (2019 est.)
37.1% of GDP (2018 est.)
39.88% of GDP (2017 est.)
12.02% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$2.153 billion (2021 est.)
-$178.4 million (2020 est.)
-$1.246 billion (2019 est.)
$49.425 billion (2021 est.)
$37.183 billion (2020 est.)
$41.975 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Russia 42%, Ukraine 13%, United Kingdom 7% (2019)
fertilizers, refined petroleum, cheese, delivery trucks, lumber (2021)
$45.459 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$35.236 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$42.378 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Russia 57%, China 7%, Poland 5%, Germany 5%, Ukraine 5% (2019)
crude petroleum, natural gas, cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, broadcasting equipment (2019)
$8.425 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$7.468 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$9.394 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$39.847 billion (2019 est.)
$39.297 billion (2018 est.)
Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
2.539 (2021 est.)
2.44 (2020 est.)
2.092 (2019 est.)
2.038 (2018 est.)
1.932 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 11.36 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 32,665,500,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 4.777 billion kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 4.277 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 2.711 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 95.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 2 (2023)
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 0
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 2.22GW (2023)
Percent of total electricity production: 14.1% (2021)
Percent of total energy produced: 40.8% (2021)
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 0
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 621,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 1.574 million metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 2.117 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 34,300 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 134,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 32,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 383,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 198 million barrels (2021 est.)
477,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
351,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
14,630 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 68.951 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
consumption: 18,639,590,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 18,673,429,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 2.832 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
54.695 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 1.623 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 16.856 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 36.217 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
102.558 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 2 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 30
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,760,168 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1.9 million (2018) mt-km
EW
65 (2021)
33
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
32
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
1 (2021)
5,386 km gas, 1,589 km oil, 1,730 km refined products (2013)
total: 5,528 km (2014)
standard gauge: 25 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
broad gauge: 5,503 km (2014) 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)
total: 86,600 km (2017)
paved: (2010)
unpaved: (2010)
2,500 km (2011) (major rivers are the west-flowing Western Dvina and Neman Rivers and the south-flowing Dnepr River and its tributaries, the Berezina, Sozh, and Pripyat Rivers)
total: 4 (2022)
by type: other 4
river port(s): Mazyr (Prypyats’)
manyapis