World Factbook
Belarus
Respublika Byelarus' (Belarusian)/ Respublika Belarus' (Russian)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
99.9% (2019 est.)
female
99.9% (2019 est.)
total population
99.9% (2019 est.)
Languages
Languages
Russian (official) 71.4%, Belarusian (official) 26%, other 0.3% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 2.3% (2019 est.)
major-language sample(s)
Книга фактов о мире – незаменимый источник базовой информации. (Russian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Orthodox 48.3%, Catholic 7.1%, other 3.5%, non-believers 41.1% (2011 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.96 male(s)/female
total population
0.88 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.51 male(s)/female
Birth rate
8.16 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
39.5 years
total
42.5 years (2025 est.)
female
45 years
Population
male
4,414,771
total
9,460,972 (2025 est.)
female
5,046,201
Nationality
noun
Belarusian(s)
adjective
Belarusian
Tobacco use
male
44.5% (2025 est.)
total
26.4% (2025 est.)
female
11.6% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
16.1% (male 787,849/female 741,293)
15-64 years
66.1% (male 3,073,507/female 3,204,088)
65 years and over
17.8% (2024 est.) (male 572,483/female 1,122,231)
Ethnic groups
Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
1.6% (2019)
women married by age 15
0.1% (2019)
women married by age 18
4.7% (2019)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
52 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
24.1 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
3.6 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
27.9 (2025 est.)
Physician density
4.72 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.6% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
12.3% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
9.7 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.45 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 98.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
13.2% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total
2.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
1.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.44% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.7 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
Life expectancy at birth
male
69.8 years
female
80 years
total population
74.7 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
1 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 98.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
10.57 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.)
Major urban areas - population
2.057 million MINSK (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
24.5% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
26.8 years (2019 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
62.4% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
14 years (2023 est.)
total
14 years (2023 est.)
female
15 years (2023 est.)