MarketDemographics of Belarus
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Demographics of Belarus

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. 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. Population :9,109,280 (2025 est.) :country comparison to the world: 98 {{Cite web |title= Belarus ranks 6th in population the CIS countries Age structure :0–14 years: 16.78% (male 791,170/female 414,450) :15–24 years: 9.59% (male 404,500/female 375,750) :25–54 years: 43.94% (male 2,058,648/female 2,105,910) :55–64 years: 14.45% (male 605,330/female 763,972) :65 years and over: 17.66% (male 327,300/female 355,163) (2022 est.) Median age :Total: 40.9 years :Male: 39.5 years :Female: 43.9 years (2022 est.) Sex ratio :At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female :0–14 years: 87.266 male(s)/female :15–24 years: 87.266 male(s)/female :25–54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female :55–64 years: 0.79 male(s)/female :65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female :Total population: 87.266 male(s)/female (2024 est.) Life expectancy at birth in Belarus since 1900 :Total population: 72.15 years :country comparison to the world: 138 :Male: 66.53 years :Female: 78.1 years (2014 est.) Total fertility rate (TFR) in Belarus by region and year Birth rate in Belarus, 2019.png|Birth rate (by district, 2019) Death rate in Belarus, 2019.png|Mortality rate (by district, 2019) Natural population change in Belarus, 2019.png|Rate of natural increase (by district, 2019) 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 ==
Vital statistics
===Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire=== The figures below refer to the uyezds of the five governorates of the Russian Empire (Grodno, Vitebsk, Minsk, Mogilev, Vilna) whose administrative centers are now part of modern-day Belarus. After WW2 Population and migration statistics: • Data as of January 1. Data as of July 1 are to be released. Current vital statistics BelStat did not provide official birth data between 2020 and 2024. However, according to BelStat the number of inhabitants age 0-4 has declined from 550,147 on January 1, 2019 to 388,693 on January 1, 2024, a 29.3% decline in five years. BelStat issued official statistics in 2025 for the first time since 2020 showing that there were 58,938 births in 2024. Structure of the population == Migration ==
Migration
Note: Data for 2020 to 2023 is unavailable. == Ethnic groups ==
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). 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). ==Languages==
Languages
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 71.3% of the population (2019 census). Major cities such as Minsk and Brest are overwhelmingly Russian-speaking. ==Religion==
Religion
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. 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. ==Urbanization==
Urbanization
:Urban population: 75% of total population (2011) :Rate of urbanization: 0.21% annual rate of change (2010–2015 est.) ==Notes==
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