Demographics of Belarus explained

Place:Belarus
Size Of Population:9,155,978 (2024)[1]
Fertility:1.38 (2022)
Age 0-14 Years:16.9% (male 821,285/female 772,360)
Age 15-64 Years:67.7% (male 3,053,618/female 3,314,835)
Age 65 Years:15.4% (male 479,740/female 971,608)(2019 census)
Total Mf Ratio:0.87 male(s)/female (2014)
Sr At Birth:1.06 male(s)/female
Sr Under 15:1.06 male(s)/female
Sr 15-64 Years:0.94 male(s)/female
Sr 65 Years Over:0.46 male(s)/female
Nation:noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Major Ethnic:Belarusians
Spoken:Belarusian, Russian

The demographics of Belarus is about the demographic features of the population of Belarus, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.

Population

The population of Belarus suffered a dramatic decline during World War II, dropping from more than 9 million in 1940 to 7.7 million in 1951. It then resumed its long-term growth, rising to 10 million in 1999. After that the population began a steady decline, dropping to 9.7 million in 2006–2007.[2] Originally a highly agrarian country with nearly 80% of its population in rural areas, Belarus has been undergoing a process of continuous urbanization. The rural population saw its share of the total population decrease from 70% in 1959 to less than 30% in the 2000s.[3]

Population

9,491,800 (January 2018 est.)[4]

country comparison to the world: 92 [5]

Age structure

0–14 years: 15.4% (male 759,285/female 717,118)

15–24 years: 11.7% (male 575,907/female 544,170)

25–54 years: 45.5% (male 2,141,419/female 2,227,433)

55–64 years: 13.3% (male 562,639/female 716,216)

65 years and over: 14.2% (male 430,225/female 933,646) (2014 est.)

Median age

Total: 39.4 years

Male: 36.3 years

Female: 42.4 years (2014 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0–14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15–24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

25–54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

55–64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

width="32%"
- 1970–1989 1970–2010 1999–2010

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 72.15 years

country comparison to the world: 138

Male: 66.53 years

Female: 78.1 years (2014 est.)

PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
1950–195560.71
1955–1960 66.32
1960–1965 69.11
1965–1970 70.37
1970–1975 70.51
1975–1980 70.41
1980–1985 70.14
1985–1990 71.35
1990–1995 69.44
1995–2000 67.42
2000–2005 67.83
2005–2010 69.25
2010–2015 72.15

Total fertility rate (TFR) in Belarus by region and year

Region[6] 2017 20162015 2010 2005
Belarus (total) 1.54 1.73 1.72 1.49 1.25
1.06 1.21 1.24 1.25 1.08
1.45 1.63 1.62 1.42 1.19
1.65 1.85 1.83 1.49 1.25
1.72 1.93 1.89 1.55 1.28
1.75 2.03 1.96 1.63 1.30
1.89 2.10 2.06 1.73 1.45
1.94 2.16 2.18 1.72 1.37

Infant mortality rate

Total: 4.0 deaths/1,000 live births for 429 death. (2010)

Total: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births for 422 death. (2011)

Total: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births for 386 death. (2012)

Total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births for 407 death. (2013)

Total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births for 415 death. (2014)

Total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births for 321 death. (January–September 2014)

Total: 3.2 deaths/1,000 live births for 283 death. (January–September 2015)

Vital statistics

For the historical figures on Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire (Grodno, Vitebsk, Minsk, Mogilev, Vilna) with a Belarusian majority before 1917, see:[7]

YearAverage population (from 1990 onwards beginning of year)Live birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Crude migration change (per 1000)Crude population change (per 1000)Total fertility rateAbortions reported
19507,745,000197,20062,000135,20025.58.017.5 -14.5 2.6
19517,765,000198,20061,200137,00025.57.917.6 -23.3 -5.7
19527,721,000191,10064,200126,90024.88.316.4 -20.4 -4.0
19537,690,000176,20061,900114,30022.98.014.9 -10.7 4.2
19547,722,000193,10061,600131,50025.08.017.0 -6.4 10.6
19557,804,000194,40058,000136,40024.97.417.5 -7.8 9.7
19567,880,000199,50056,000143,50025.37.118.2 -11.1 7.1
19577,936,000200,80058,000142,80025.37.318.0 -8.8 9.2
19588,009,000207,70053,700154,00025.96.719.2 style="color: red" -6.3 12.9
19598,112,000204,60062,600142,00025.27.717.5 -7.9 9.62.72
19608,190,000200,21854,037146,18124.46.617.8 -6.3 11.52.69170,787
19618,284,000194,23953,682140,55723.46.517.0 -4.8 12.22.66178,290
19628,385,000185,30260,676124,62622.17.214.9 -6.3 8.72.57185,554
19638,458,000173,88958,291115,59820.66.913.7 -6.5 7.22.46191,137
19648,519,000161,79453,967107,82719.06.312.7 -2.4 10.32.36200,534
19658,607,000153,86558,15695,70917.96.8 11.1 0.8 11.92.27205,999
19668,709,000153,41458,26595,14917.66.710.9 -0.5 10.42.28203,430
19678,800,000147,50161,26386,23816.87.09.8 -1.1 8.82.26203,722
19688,877,000146,09562,35483,74116.57.09.4 -0.4 9.02.23198,955
19698,957,000142,65265,91276,74015.97.48.6 0.4 9.02.18191,637
19709,038,000146,67668,97477,70216.27.68.6 -0.4 8.22.30187,935
19719,112,000149,13568,51180,62416.47.58.8 -1.6 7.22.34190,169
19729,178,000147,81371,86675,94716.17.88.3 style="color: red" -1.0 7.32.36185,101
19739,245,000144,72973,92770,80215.78.07.7 -0.5 7.22.29193,503
19749,312,000146,87673,18173,69515.87.97.9 -2.0 5.92.24194,247
19759,367,000146,51779,70166,81615.68.57.1 style="color: red" -1.5 5.52.20194,710
19769,411,000147,91282,40065,51215.78.87.0 style="color: red" -1.5 5.52.16199,121
19779,463,000148,96384,56564,39815.78.96.8 -0.2 6.62.11202,146
19789,525,000151,05386,61264,44115.99.16.8 0.0 6.82.08201,619
19799,590,000151,80090,83760,96315.89.56.4 0.7 7.12.05203,446
19809,658,000154,43295,51458,91816.09.96.1 1.6 7.72.04201,852
19819,732,000157,89993,13664,76316.29.66.7 0.7 7.42.08202,340
19829,804,000159,36493,84065,52416.39.66.7 0.2 6.92.02198,011
19839,872,000173,51097,84975,66117.69.97.7 -1.0 6.72.09207,461
19849,938,000168,749104,27464,47517.010.56.5 -0.4 6.12.14210,844
19859,999,000165,034105,69059,34416.610.65.9 0.0 5.92.09200,888
198610,058,000171,61197,27674,33517.19.77.4 -2.1 5.32.10171,114
198710,111,000162,93799,92163,01616.29.96.2 style="color: red" -2.9 3.32.04163,761
198810,144,000163,193102,67160,52216.110.16.0 -3.3 2.72.03140,921
198910,171,000153,449103,47949,97015.110.24.9 style="color: red" -3.1 1.82.03256,041
1990 [8] 10,188,942142,167109,58232,58514.010.83.2 style="color: red" -3.1 0.11.91260,839
199110,189,753132,045114,65017,39513.011.21.7 style="color: red" -0.9 0.81.81241,138
199210,198,346127,971116,67411,29712.511.41.1 2.5 3.61.76240,387
199310,234,593117,384128,544-11,16011.512.6-1.1 2.0 0.91.62217,957
199410,243,506110,599130,003-19,40410.812.7-1.9 -1.3 -3.21.53212,533
199510,210,403101,144133,775-32,6319.913.1-3.2 0 -3.21.41193,280
199610,177,25895,798133,422-37,6249.413.1-3.7 0.2 style="color: red" -3.51.34174,098
199710,141,88089,586136,653-47,0678.913.5-4.7 -0.1 -4.81.25152,660
199810,092,98692,645137,296-44,6519.213.6-4.4 0.2 -4.21.30145,339
199910,050,94092,975142,027-49,0529.314.2-4.9 0.1 -4.81.31135,829
200010,002,53593,691134,867-41,1769.413.5-4.1 style="color: red" -0.5 -4.61.32121,895
20019,956,68491,720140,299-48,5799.214.1-4.9 -0.8 -5.71.29101,402
20029,900,41488,743146,655-57,9129.014.9-5.9 style="color: red" -1.1 style="color: red" -7.0 1.2489,895
20039,830,68188,512143,200-54,6889.014.6-5.6 -1.3 -6.91.2380,174
20049,762,81788,943140,064-51,1219.114.4-5.3 style="color: red" -1.6 -6.91.2371,700
20059,697,47590,508141,857-51,3499.414.7-5.3 style="color: red" -1.5 -6.91.2564,655
20069,630,35496,721138,426-41,70510.114.4-4.3 -1.0 -5.31.3458,516
20079,579,493103,626132,993-29,36710.813.9-3.1 -0.8 -3.91.4346,287
20089,542,412107,876133,879style="color: red" -26,00311.314.1style="color: red" -2.7 style="color: red" -0.3 -3.01.4942,197
20099,513,557109,263135,097style="color: red" -25,83411.514.2style="color: red" -2.7 0.8 style="color: red" -1.91.5135,967
20109,495,608108,050137,132style="color: red" -29,08211.414.5style="color: red" -3.1 0.6 style="color: red" -2.51.4933,262
20119,472,064109,147135,090style="color: red" -25,94311.514.3style="color: red" -2.7 0.5 -2.21.5232,031
20129,451,221115,893126,531style="color: red" -10,63812.313.4style="color: red" -1.1 0.2 style="color: red" -0.91.6228,628
20139,442,450117,997125,326style="color: red" -7,32912.513.3style="color: red" -0.8 1.0 0.21.6731,206
20149,443,972118,534121,542style="color: red" -3,00812.512.9style="color: red" -0.3 1.3 1.01.7029,797
20159,453,058119,028120,026style="color: red" -99812.612.7style="color: red" -0.1 1.8 1.71.7229,217
20169,469,400117,779119,379style="color: red" -1,60012.412.6style="color: red" -0.2 0.20.01.7327,467
20179,469,093102,556119,311style="color: red" -16,75510.812.6style="color: red" -1.8 -0.4 style="color: red" -2.21.54
20189,448,31294,042120,053style="color: red" -26,01110.012.7style="color: red" -2.8 0.8 style="color: red" -2.01.45
20199,429,25787,602120,470style="color: red" -32,8689.312.8style="color: red" -3.5 1.5 style="color: red" -2.01.38
20209,410,25983,015144,536style="color: red" -61,6518.915.4-6.5 0.1 style="color: red" -6.41.33
20219,349,64579,732173,853-94,1218.618.7-10.10.0 -10.1 1.29
20229,255,52473,906128,813-54,9078.014.0-5.90.0 -5.9
20239,200,61769,0107.5
20249,155,978

Current vital statistics

[9]

PeriodLive birthsDeathsNatural increase
January - March 201921,51932,229-10,710
January - March 202020,18031,039-10,859
Difference -1,339 (-6.22%) -1,190 (-3.69%) -149

BelStat does not provide official birth data recently. However, according to BelStat the number of inhabitants age 0-4 has declined from 550,147 in January 1st, 2019 to 388,693 in January 1st, 2024, a 29.3% decline in five years.[10]

Structure of the population

Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total4 351 4735 061 973 9 413 446100
0–4270 610255 488526 0985.59
5–9288 068 273 160561 2285.96
10–14259 437246 882506 319 5.38
15–19234 423221 344455 7674.84
20–24228 635219 413448 0484.76
25–29305 775310 546616 3216.55
30–34388 316392 937781 2538.30
35–39367 695381 356749 0517.96
40–44325 233345 140670 3737.12
45–49302 148337 685639 8336.80
50–54289 385333 961623 3466.62
55–59319 173385 127704 3007.48
60–64292 835387 326680 1617.23
65-69202 723310 845513 5685.46
70-74123 837219 468343 3053.65
75-7967 798160 061227 8592.42
80-8455 715164 022219 7372.33
85-8921 46780 001 101 4681.08
90-947 17331 58338 7560.41
95-999665 300 6 2660.07
100+61328389 <0.01
Age group MaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–14818 115775 5301 593 64516.93
15–643 053 6183 314 8356 368 45367.65
65+479 740971 6081 451 34815.42

Ethnic groups

Belarusians 84.9%, Russians 7.5%, Poles 3.1%, Ukrainians 1.7%, Jews 0.1%, Armenians 0.1%, Lipka Tatars 0.1%, Ruska Roma 0.1%, Lithuanians 0.1%, Azerbaijanis 0.1%, others 2.2% (2019 census).

Prior to the Second World War

Prior to World War II, Jews were the second largest ethnic group in Belarus, and at 400,000 in the 1926 and 1939 censuses they even exceeded the number of Russians (although admittedly by a small margin).[11] Jews accounted for 7%–8% of the total population at that time, comprising more than 40% of the population in cities and towns, where Jews and Poles were the majority, while Belarusians mostly lived in rural areas.

The Poles were the fourth largest ethnic group in Byelorussian SSR (current Eastern portion of Belarus), before World War II, comprising 1–2% of the population in the pre-war censuses (less than 100,000).[11]

Population of the Byelorussian SSR according to ethnic group 1926–1939
Ethnic
group		census 19261census 19392
Number%Number%
Belarusians4,017,30180.64,615,49682.9
Jews407,0598.2375,0926.7
Russians383,8067.7364,7056.6
Poles97,4982.058,3801.1
Ukrainians34,6810.7104,2471.9
Germans7,0750.18,4480.2
Latvians14,0800.38,1170.2
Tatars3,7770.17,6640.1
Lithuanians6,8640.14,2840.1
Roma2,3660.13,6320.1
Mordvins1,0510.02,0420.0
Others7,6820.216,8870.3
Total4,983,2405,568,994
1 Source: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_26.php. 2 Source: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_39.php .

After the Second World War

The Holocaust decimated the Jewish population in Belarus, and after World War II, in 1959, Jews accounted for only 1.9% of the population. Since then, Jewish emigration to Israel and other countries reduced the number of Jews to 0.1% of the population (13,000 in 2009).

After the war, a large number of Poles were forced to move to Poland. In exchange, Belarusians from the former Belastok Region, which was returned to Poland in 1945, after being occupied in 1939 were displaced to Belarus. Due to changes in the western border of Belarus and Poland after World War II (see territorial changes of Poland), the number of Poles in Belarus increased to more than 500,000 according to the first post-war census (1959) and to about 400,000 according to the 1999 census. Poles are now the third largest ethnic group in Belarus (see Polish minority in Belarus). There are around 15,000 of Lipka Tatars and about 10,000 of Ruska Roma (Russian Gypsies).

In the post-war period Belarus experienced an influx of workers from other parts of the Soviet Union, for example Russians and Ukrainians. The decade after independence saw a decline in the population of most of these minority groups, either by assimilation or emigration. The most significant exception to this trend has been a continued (if small-scale) net immigration of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, whose numbers increased from less than 2,000 in 1959 to around 10,000 in 1999.[12]

width="23%"
- Belarusian Russians Poles Ukrainians
width="23%"
- Belarusian Russians Poles Ukrainians
Population of Belarus according to ethnic group 1959–2019
Ethnic
group		census 19591census 19702census 19793census 19894census 19995census 20096census 20197
Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%
Belarusians6,532,03581.17,289,61081.07,567,95579.47,904,62377.98,158,90081.27,957,25283.77,990,71984.9
Russians659,0938.2938,16110.41,134,11711.91,342,09913.21,141,70011.4785,0848.3706,9927.5
Poles538,8816.7382,6004.3403,1694.2417,7204.1395,7003.9294,5493.1287,6933.1
Ukrainians133,0611.7190,8392.1230,9852.4291,0082.9237,0002.4158,7231.7159,6561.7
Jews150,0841.9148,0111.6135,4501.4111,9751.127,8000.312,9260.113,7050.1
Armenians1,7510.02,3620.02,7510.04,9330.110,2000.18,5120.19,3920.1
Tatars8,6500.19,9920.110,8510.112,4360.110,1000.17,3160.18,4450.1
Romani4,6620.16,8430.18,4080.110,7620.19,9000.17,0790.16,8480.1
Azerbaijanis1,4020.01,3350.02,6540.05,0090.16,3000.15,5670.16,0010.1
Lithuanians8,3630.18,0920.16,9930.17,6060.16,4000.15,0870.15,2870.1
Others16,6660.224,4930.329,1830.343,6350.441,2000.4261,7122.8218,7082.3
Total8,054,6489,002,3389,532,51610,151,80610,045,2009,503,8079,413,446
1 Source: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_59.php. 2 Source: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_70.php. 3 Source: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_79.php. 4 Source: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_89.php. 5 Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20101101205819/http://belstat.gov.by/homep/en/census/main1.php. 6 Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20110706163803/http://belstat.gov.by/homep/en/census/2009/main.php. 7 Source: https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_17854/.

Languages

See main article: Languages of Belarus. Belarusian and Russian are the official languages according to the Constitution of Belarus (Article 17). The constitution guarantees preservation of the cultural heritage of all ethnic minorities, including their languages (Article 15). Russian, and not Belarusian, is the dominant language in Belarus, spoken normally at home by 70% of the population (2009 census). Major cities such as Minsk and Brest are overwhelmingly Russian-speaking.

width="32%"
- Native languages Spoken languages

Religion

See main article: Religion in Belarus. According to 1997 estimates, 80% of the religious population belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church and the others are mainly Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Protestants, Muslims, and Jews.[13]

Figures for 2020 state that 78% of the population have a Christian background (this includes 60% Orthodox and 10% Catholic). Of the rest, almost 22% are non-religious, with a very small number of Jews and Sunni Muslims.[14]

Urbanization

Urban population: 75% of total population (2011)

Rate of urbanization: 0.21% annual rate of change (2010–2015 est.)

See also

References

  1. Web site: Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа. belstat.gov.by.
  2. http://belstat.gov.by/homep/en/indicators/population.php Population estimates 1995–2007
  3. Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Belarus 2007, BelStat, Minsk, 2007
  4. Web site: Population on January 1, 2018 by regions of the Republic of Belarus. 2018 . Белстат . ru-RU.
  5. Web site: Belarus ranks 6th in population the CIS countries. 2018-07-06 . БЕЛТА . ru-RU.
  6. Web site: 2016 . Demographic Data . 2018-06-23 . demdata.belstat.gov.by . 2021-04-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210404121722/http://demdata.belstat.gov.by/Search.html . dead .
  7. Web site: Статистический ежегодник Российской Империи (Издание ЦСК) - Проект "Исторические Материалы". istmat.info. 2014-12-24. 2014-12-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20141216153942/http://istmat.info/node/21366. dead.
  8. http://dataportal.belstat.gov.by/Indicators/Preview?key=144299 database Belstat.gov, visited 17 December 2023
  9. Web site: Бюллетени. www.belstat.gov.by.
  10. Web site: 10101100003 Population at the beginning of year. www.belstat.gov.by.
  11. Web site: Приложение Демоскопа Weekly. demoscope.ru.
  12. http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/perepic/p5.php Ethnic composition of the population
  13. Web site: The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency. www.cia.gov. 28 October 2022 .
  14. https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=21c The ARDA website, Retrieved 2023-08-01

External links

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