Demographics of Belarus

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Demographics of Belarus
WKO Belarus.png
Population pyramid 2018
Population9,349,645 (2021)
Age structure
0–14 years16.9%(male 821,285/female 772,360)
15–64 years67.7%(male 3,053,618/female 3,314,835)
65 and over15.4%(male 479,740/female 971,608) (2019 census)
Sex ratio
Total0.87 male(s)/female (2014)
At birth1.06 male(s)/female
Under 151.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years0.94 male(s)/female
65 and over0.46 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationalitynoun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian
Major ethnicBelarusians
Language
SpokenBelarusian, Russian
Belarus: Population and rural population 1913–2008 (beginning of year). Source: official statistics from BelStat.
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1897 6,673,000—    
1914 6,899,100+3.4%
1926 4,983,240−27.8%
1939 5,568,994+11.8%
1951 7,781,100+39.7%
1959 8,055,700+3.5%
1970 8,992,200+11.6%
1979 9,532,500+6.0%
1989 10,151,800+6.5%
1999 10,045,200−1.1%
2009 9,503,800−5.4%
2019 9,413,446−1.0%
2021 9,349,645−0.7%
Source:[1]

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.

Demographic trends[]

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.[2] After that the population began a steady decline, dropping to 9.7 million in 2006–2007.[3] Originally a highly agrarian country with nearly 80% of its population in rural areas, Belarus has been undergoing a process of continuous urbanization. The share of its rural population decreased from 70% in 1959 to less than 30% in the 2000s.[4]

Population[]

9,491,800 (January 2018 est.)[5]
country comparison to the world:'’ 92 [6]

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.)
Population change in Belarus, 1970 – 2010[7]
BelarusPopChange1970-1989.PNG
BelarusPopulationChange1970-2009.PNG
BelarusPopulationChange1999-2009.png
1970–1989 1970–2010 1999–2010

Vital statistics[]

Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire[]

The figures below refer to the five governorates of the Russian Empire (Grodno, Vitebsk, Minsk, Mogilev, Vilna) with a Belarusian majority.[8]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000)
1900 9,009,000 393,612 222,350 171,262 43.7 24.7 19.0
1901 9,176,000 386,064 235,223 150,841 42.1 25.6 16.4
1902 9,328,000 408,209 220,421 187,788 43.8 23.6 20.1
1903 9,512,000 372,206 236,846 135,360 39.1 24.9 14.2
1904 9,676,000 387,501 236,530 150,971 40.0 24.4 15.6
1905 9,828,000 372,119 239,956 132,163 37.9 24.4 13.4
1906 10,004,000 381,101 210,556 170,545 38.1 21.0 17.0
1907 10,152,000 380,932 193,273 187,659 37.5 19.0 18.5
1908 10,373,000 363,095 204,611 158,484 35.0 19.7 15.3
1909 10,561,000 382,501 209,211 173,290 36.2 19.8 16.4
1910 10,725,000 371,091 224,884 146,207 34.6 21.0 13.6
1911 10,858,000 380,034 202,405 177,629 35.0 18.6 16.4
1912 11,072,000 387,594 188,434 199,160 35.0 17.0 18.0
1913 11,283,000 372,229 202,323 169,906 33.0 17.9 15.1
1914 11,587,000 384,682 210,515 174,167 33.2 18.2 15.0

After WWII[]

[9]

Source: National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus[10]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate Abortions. reported
1950 7,745,000 197,200 62,000 135,200 25.5 8.0 17.5
1951 7,765,000 198,200 61,200 137,000 25.5 7.9 17.6
1952 7,721,000 191,100 64,200 126,900 24.8 8.3 16.4
1953 7,690,000 176,200 61,900 114,300 22.9 8.0 14.9
1954 7,722,000 193,100 61,600 131,500 25.0 8.0 17.0
1955 7,804,000 194,400 58,000 136,400 24.9 7.4 17.5
1956 7,880,000 199,500 56,000 143,500 25.3 7.1 18.2
1957 7,936,000 200,800 58,000 142,800 25.3 7.3 18.0
1958 8,009,000 207,700 53,700 154,000 25.9 6.7 19.2
1959 8,112,000 204,600 62,600 142,000 25.2 7.7 17.5 2.72
1960 8,190,000 200,218 54,037 146,181 24.4 6.6 17.8 2.69 170,787
1961 8,284,000 194,239 53,682 140,557 23.4 6.5 17.0 2.66 178,290
1962 8,385,000 185,302 60,676 124,626 22.1 7.2 14.9 2.57 185,554
1963 8,458,000 173,889 58,291 115,598 20.6 6.9 13.7 2.46 191,137
1964 8,519,000 161,794 53,967 107,827 19.0 6.3 12.7 2.36 200,534
1965 8,607,000 153,865 58,156 95,709 17.9 6.8 11.1 2.27 205,999
1966 8,709,000 153,414 58,265 95,149 17.6 6.7 10.9 2.28 203,430
1967 8,800,000 147,501 61,263 86,238 16.8 7.0 9.8 2.26 203,722
1968 8,877,000 146,095 62,354 83,741 16.5 7.0 9.4 2.23 198,955
1969 8,957,000 142,652 65,912 76,740 15.9 7.4 8.6 2.18 191,637
1970 9,038,000 146,676 68,974 77,702 16.2 7.6 8.6 2.30 187,935
1971 9,112,000 149,135 68,511 80,624 16.4 7.5 8.8 2.34 190,169
1972 9,178,000 147,813 71,866 75,947 16.1 7.8 8.3 2.36 185,101
1973 9,245,000 144,729 73,927 70,802 15.7 8.0 7.7 2.29 193,503
1974 9,312,000 146,876 73,181 73,695 15.8 7.9 7.9 2.24 194,247
1975 9,367,000 146,517 79,701 66,816 15.6 8.5 7.1 2.20 194,710
1976 9,411,000 147,912 82,400 65,512 15.7 8.8 7.0 2.16 199,121
1977 9,463,000 148,963 84,565 64,398 15.7 8.9 6.8 2.11 202,146
1978 9,525,000 151,053 86,612 64,441 15.9 9.1 6.8 2.08 201,619
1979 9,590,000 151,800 90,837 60,963 15.8 9.5 6.4 2.05 203,446
1980 9,658,000 154,432 95,514 58,918 16.0 9.9 6.1 2.04 201,852
1981 9,732,000 157,899 93,136 64,763 16.2 9.6 6.7 2.08 202,340
1982 9,804,000 159,364 93,840 65,524 16.3 9.6 6.7 2.02 198,011
1983 9,872,000 173,510 97,849 75,661 17.6 9.9 7.7 2.09 207,461
1984 9,938,000 168,749 104,274 64,475 17.0 10.5 6.5 2.14 210,844
1985 9,999,000 165,034 105,690 59,344 16.6 10.6 5.9 2.09 200,888
1986 10,058,000 171,611 97,276 74,335 17.1 9.7 7.4 2.10 171,114
1987 10,111,000 162,937 99,921 63,016 16.2 9.9 6.2 2.04 163,761
1988 10,144,000 163,193 102,671 60,522 16.1 10.1 6.0 2.03 140,921
1989 10,171,000 153,449 103,479 49,970 15.1 10.2 4.9 2.03 256,041
1990 10,189,348 142,167 109,582 32,585 14.0 10.8 3.2 1.91 260,839
1991 10,194,050 132,045 114,650 17,395 13.0 11.2 1.7 1.81 241,138
1992 10,216,470 127,971 116,674 11,297 12.5 11.4 1.1 1.76 240,387
1993 10,239,050 117,384 128,544 -11,160 11.5 12.6 -1.1 1.62 217,957
1994 10,226,955 110,599 130,003 -19,404 10.8 12.7 -1.9 1.53 212,533
1995 10,193,831 101,144 133,775 -32,631 9.9 13.1 -3.2 1.41 193,280
1996 10,159,569 95,798 133,422 -37,624 9.4 13.1 -3.7 1.34 174,098
1997 10,117,433 89,586 136,653 -47,067 8.9 13.5 -4.7 1.25 152,660
1998 10,071,963 92,645 137,296 -44,651 9.2 13.6 -4.4 1.30 145,339
1999 10,026,738 92,975 142,027 -49,052 9.3 14.2 -4.9 1.31 135,829
2000 9,979,610 93,691 134,867 -41,176 9.4 13.5 -4.1 1.32 121,895
2001 9,928,549 91,720 140,299 -48,579 9.2 14.1 -4.9 1.29 101,402
2002 9,865,548 88,743 146,655 -57,912 9.0 14.9 -5.9 1.24 89,895
2003 9,796,749 88,512 143,200 -54,688 9.0 14.6 -5.6 1.23 80,174
2004 9,730,146 88,943 140,064 -51,121 9.1 14.4 -5.3 1.23 71,700
2005 9,663,915 90,508 141,857 -51,349 9.4 14.7 -5.3 1.25 64,655
2006 9,604,924 96,721 138,426 -41,705 10.1 14.4 -4.3 1.34 58,516
2007 9,560,953 103,626 132,993 -29,367 10.8 13.9 -3.1 1.43 46,287
2008 9,527,985 107,876 133,879 -26,003 11.3 14.1 -2.7 1.49 42,197
2009 9,506,765 109,263 135,097 -25,834 11.5 14.2 -2.7 1.51 35,967
2010 9,483,850 108,050 137,132 -29,082 11.4 14.5 -3.1 1.49 33,262
2011 9,461,650 109,147 135,090 -25,943 11.5 14.3 -2.7 1.52 32,031
2012 9,446,850 115,893 126,531 -10,638 12.3 13.4 -1.1 1.62 28,628
2013 9,443,250 117,997 125,326 -7,329 12.5 13.3 -0.8 1.67 31,206
2014 9,448,550 118,534 121,542 -3,008 12.5 12.9 -0.3 1.70 29,797
2015 9,461,100 119,028 120,026 -998 12.6 12.7 -0.1 1.72 29,217
2016 9,469,400 117,779 119,379 -1,600 12.4 12.6 -0.2 1.73 27,467
2017 9,459,000 102,556 119,311 -16,755 10.8 12.6 -1.8 1.54
2018 9,438,800 94,042 120,053 -26,011 10.0 12.7 -2.8 1.45
2019[11] 9,419,800 87,602 120,470 -32,868 9.3 12.8 -3.5 1.38
2020[12] 9,379,952 83,015 144,536 -61,651 8.9 15.4 -6.5

Current vital statistics[]

[13]

Period Live births Deaths Natural increase
January - March 2019 21,519 32,229 -10,710
January - March 2020 20,180 31,039 -10,859
Difference Decrease -1,339 (-6.22%) Positive decrease -1,190 (-3.69%) Decrease -149

  • Birth rate (by district, 2019)

  • Mortality rate (by district, 2019)

  • Rate of natural increase (by district, 2019)

Infant mortality rate[]

Total: 4.0 Positive decrease deaths/1,000 live births for 429 death. (2010)
Total: 3.9 Positive decrease deaths/1,000 live births for 422 death. (2011)
Total: 3.4 Positive decrease deaths/1,000 live births for 386 death. (2012)
Total: 3.5 Negative increase deaths/1,000 live births for 407 death. (2013)
Total: 3.5 Steady deaths/1,000 live births for 415 death. (2014)
Total: 3.5 Positive decrease deaths/1,000 live births for 321 death. (January–September 2014)
Total: 3.2 Negative increase deaths/1,000 live births for 283 death. (January–September 2015)

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

Region 2017 2016 2015 2010 2005
Belarus (total) 1.54 1.73 1.72 1.49 1.25
Minsk 1.06 1.21 1.24 1.25 1.08
Vitebsk Oblast 1.45 1.63 1.62 1.42 1.19
Mogilev Oblast 1.65 1.85 1.83 1.49 1.25
Gomel Oblast 1.72 1.93 1.89 1.55 1.28
Grodno Oblast 1.75 2.03 1.96 1.63 1.30
Brest Oblast 1.89 2.10 2.06 1.73 1.45
Minsk Oblast 1.94 2.16 2.18 1.72 1.37

[14]

Life expectancy at birth[]

Average life expectancy at birth in Belarus (2018)
Total population: 72.15 years
country comparison to the world: 138
Male: 66.53 years
Female: 78.1 years (2014 est.)
Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 60.71
1955–1960 Increase 66.32
1960–1965 Increase 69.11
1965–1970 Increase 70.37
1970–1975 Increase 70.51
1975–1980 Decrease 70.41
1980–1985 Decrease 70.14
1985–1990 Increase 71.35
1990–1995 Decrease 69.44
1995–2000 Decrease 67.42
2000–2005 Increase 67.83
2005–2010 Increase 69.25
2010–2015 Increase 72.15

Demographic situation in 2015[]

Top 10 cities with the highest birth rate 2014[15]
20.7
Brahin 19.9
Chachersk 19.3
Lahoysk 19.0
18.0
Karma 17.4
Ivanava 17.3
Zhytkavichy 17.0
Obol 16.8
Slawharad 16.7
Zaslawye 16.5
Top 10 cities with the lowest birth rate 2015
4.8
Yanovichi 4.9
Vidzy 5.3
6.2
Damachava 6.5
6.6
Lubcha 7.2
Vetrino 7.3
Kamaryn 7.4
Azarychy 8.1

Ethnic groups[]

COB data Belarus.PNG
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).[16] 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 Belarussian 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).[16]

Population of the Byelorussian SSR according to ethnic group 1926–1939
Ethnic
group 		census 19261 census 19392
Number % Number %
Belarusians 4,017,301 80.6 4,615,496 82.9
Jews 407,059 8.2 375,092 6.7
Russians 383,806 7.7 364,705 6.6
Poles 97,498 2.0 58,380 1.1
Ukrainians 34,681 0.7 104,247 1.9
Germans 7,075 0.1 8,448 0.2
Latvians 14,080 0.3 8,117 0.2
Tatars 3,777 0.1 7,664 0.1
Lithuanians 6,864 0.1 4,284 0.1
Roma 2,366 0.1 3,632 0.1
Mordvins 1,051 0.0 2,042 0.0
Others 7,682 0.2 16,887 0.3
Total 4,983,240 5,568,994
1 Source: [2]. 2 Source: [3].

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).

Polish minority districts in 1960:
  Over 50% Polish
  40-50%
  30-40%
  10-30%
  Up to 10% Polish
  Border of Poland in 1939

After the war, a large number of Poles were forced to move to Poland. In exchange, Belarusians from the former Belastok Voblast, 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.[2]

Ethnic composition of Belarus according to 2019 census
Belarusians in Belarus (2019).png
Russians in Belarus (2019).png
Poles in Belarus (2019).png
Ukrainians in Belarus (2019).png
Belarusian Russians Poles Ukrainians
Ethnic composition of Belarus according to 2009 census
Belarusians in Belarus 2009.png
Russians in Belarus 2009.PNG
Poles in Belarus 2009.PNG
Ukrainians in Belarus 2009.PNG
Belarusian Russians Poles Ukrainians
Population of Belarus according to ethnic group 1959–2019
Ethnic
group 		census 19591 census 19702 census 19793 census 19894 census 19995 census 20096 census 20197
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Belarusians 6,532,035 81.1 7,289,610 81.0 7,567,955 79.4 7,904,623 77.9 8,158,900 81.2 7,957,252 83.7 7,990,719 84.9
Russians 659,093 8.2 938,161 10.4 1,134,117 11.9 1,342,099 13.2 1,141,700 11.4 785,084 8.3 706,992 7.5
Poles 538,881 6.7 382,600 4.3 403,169 4.2 417,720 4.1 395,700 3.9 294,549 3.1 287,693 3.1
Ukrainians 133,061 1.7 190,839 2.1 230,985 2.4 291,008 2.9 237,000 2.4 158,723 1.7 159,656 1.7
Jews 150,084 1.9 148,011 1.6 135,450 1.4 111,975 1.1 27,800 0.3 12,926 0.1 13,705 0.1
Armenians 1,751 0.0 2,362 0.0 2,751 0.0 4,933 0.1 10,200 0.1 8,512 0.1 9,392 0.1
Tatars 8,650 0.1 9,992 0.1 10,851 0.1 12,436 0.1 10,100 0.1 7,316 0.1 8,445 0.1
Romani 4,662 0.1 6,843 0.1 8,408 0.1 10,762 0.1 9,900 0.1 7,079 0.1 6,848 0.1
Azerbaijanis 1,402 0.0 1,335 0.0 2,654 0.0 5,009 0.1 6,300 0.1 5,567 0.1 6,001 0.1
Lithuanians 8,363 0.1 8,092 0.1 6,993 0.1 7,606 0.1 6,400 0.1 5,087 0.1 5,287 0.1
Others 16,666 0.2 24,493 0.3 29,183 0.3 43,635 0.4 41,200 0.4 261,712 2.8 218,708 2.3
Total 8,054,648 9,002,338 9,532,516 10,151,806 10,045,200 9,503,807 9,413,446
1 Source: [4]. 2 Source: [5]. 3 Source: [6]. 4 Source: [7]. 5 Source: [8]. 6 Source: [9]. 7 Source: [10].

Languages[]

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.

Languages of Belarus according to 2009 census (green – Belarusian, blue – Russian)
BelarusNativeLanguages2009.PNG
BelarusHomeLanguages2009.PNG
Native languages Spoken languages

Religion[]

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.[17]

Urbanization[]

Urban population: 75% of total population (2011)
Rate of urbanization: 0.21% annual rate of change (2010–2015 est.)

See also[]

  • List of cities in Belarus
  • Belarus Census (disambiguation)

References[]

  1. ^ "BELARUS: historical demographical data of the whole country". Populstat. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Ethnic composition of the population Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, 1999 Belarus Census.
  3. ^ Population estimates 1995–2007 Archived 2008-12-03 at the Wayback Machine, BelStat
  4. ^ Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Belarus 2007, BelStat, Minsk, 2007
  5. ^ "Population on January 1, 2018 by regions of the Republic of Belarus" (in Russian). Белстат. 2018.
  6. ^ "Belarus ranks 6th in population the CIS countries" (in Russian). БЕЛТА. 2018-07-06.
  7. ^ "Division of Belarus". pop-stat.mashke.org.
  8. ^ "Статистический ежегодник Российской Империи (Издание ЦСК ) - Проект "Исторические Материалы"". istmat.info.
  9. ^ [1] United Nations. Demographic Yearbooks
  10. ^ "National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus".
  11. ^ "Естественное движение населения по Республике Беларусь за 2019 год" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Половозрастная структура населения Республики Беларусь на 1 января 2021 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2020 год" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Число зарегистрированных родившихся, умерших, браков и разводов по Республике Беларусь".
  14. ^ "Demographic Data". demdata.belstat.gov.by. 2016. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  15. ^ "Дрибин, Брагин и Чечерск обставили Минск по рождаемости" [Drybin, Brahin and Chachersk overpassed Minsk in birth rate] (in Russian). Euroradio.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "Приложение Демоскопа Weekly". demoscope.ru.
  17. ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov.

External links[]

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