Background: 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.  

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 207,600 km²
Land: 202,900 km²
Water: 4,700 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries
Total: 3,599 km
Border countries: (5) Latvia 161 km; Lithuania 640 km; Poland 375 km; Russia 1,312 km; Ukraine 1,111 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain: generally flat with much marshland

Elevation
Highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
Mean elevation: 160 m

Natural resources: timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.)
Forest: 42.7% (2018 est.)
Other: 13.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 303 km² (2020)

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Dnieper (533,966 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 550 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 410 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 370 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 57.9 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: large tracts of marshy land

Geography
Note: landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes

Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations: 9,383,853 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -0.39% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 5% (2019 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Belarusian(s)
Adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)

Languages: Russian (official) 71.4%, Belarusian (official) 26%, other 0.3% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 2.3% (2009 est.)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Orthodox 48.3%, Catholic 7.1%, other 3.5%, non-believers 41.1% (2011 est.)

Age structure
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)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 50.8
Youth dependency ratio: 25.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 25.4
Potential support ratio: 3.9 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 41.7 years (2023 est.)
Male: 39.1 years
Female: 44.6 years

Population growth rate: -0.39% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 8.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 13.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Urbanization
Urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.057 million MINSK (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
International agreements 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
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
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.)

Sex ratio
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.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 26.8 years (2019 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 1 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
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

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.6 years (2023 est.)
Male: 69.6 years
Female: 79.9 years

Total fertility rate: 1.45 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 52.6% (2019)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 99.6% of population
Improved total: 99.9% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0.4% of population
Unimproved total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 4.54 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density: 10.8 beds/1,000 population (2014)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.5% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 10.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 4.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 2.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 30.5% (2020 est.)
Male: 47.4% (2020 est.)
Female: 13.5% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 4.7% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.9%
Male: 99.9%
Female: 99.9% (2019)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 15 years (2021)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 11.3% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 14%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 8.4%

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
Conventional short form: Belarus
Local long form: Respublika Byelarus' (Belarusian)/ Respublika Belarus' (Russian)
Local short form: Byelarus' (Belarusian)/ Belarus' (Russian)
Former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Etymology: the name is a compound of the Belarusian words "bel" (white) and "Rus" (the Old East Slavic ethnic designation) to form the meaning White Rusian or White Ruthenian

Government type: presidential republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship

Capital
Name: Minsk
Geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the origin of the name is disputed; Minsk may originally have been located 16 km to the southwest, on the banks of Menka River; remnants of a 10th-century settlement on the banks of the Menka have been found

Administrative divisions: 6 regions (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel' (Gomel'), Horad Minsk* (Minsk City), Hrodna (Grodno), Mahilyow (Mogilev), Minsk, Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk)
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers; Russian spelling provided for reference when different from Belarusian

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution
History: several previous; latest drafted between late 1991 and early 1994, signed 15 March 1994
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic through petition to the National Assembly or by petition of least 150,000 eligible voters; approval required by at least two-thirds majority vote in both chambers or by simple majority of votes cast in a referendum; amended 1996, 2004

Legal system: civil law system; note - nearly all major codes (civil, civil procedure, criminal, criminal procedure, family, and labor) were revised and came into force in 1999 and 2000

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Belarus
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (since 20 July 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Roman GOLOVCHENKO (since 4 June 2020); First Deputy Prime Minister Mikalay SNAPKOW (since 4 June 2020); Deputy Prime Ministers Ihar PETRYSHENKA (since 18 August 2018), Anatol SIVAK (since 1 September 2020), Leanid ZAYATS (since 21 March 2022), Petr PARKHOMCHYK (since 16 August 2022)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits); first election held on 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999; however, Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held on 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the President LUKASHENKA to run and win a third term (19 March 2006); a fourth term (19 December 2010); a fifth term (11 October 2015); a sixth term (9 August 2020); next election to be held in 2025; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:
Note: the US does not recognize the legitimacy of the National Assembly

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chairman and deputy chairman and organized into several specialized panels, including economic and military; number of judges set by the president of the republic and the court chairman); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 judges, including a chairman and deputy chairman)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Council of the Republic; judges initially appointed for 5 years and evaluated for life appointment; Constitutional Court judges - 6 appointed by the president and 6 elected by the Council of the Republic; the presiding judge directly elected by the president and approved by the Council of the Republic; judges can serve for 11 years with an age limit of 70
Subordinate courts: oblast courts; Minsk City Court; town courts; Minsk city and oblast economic courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CEI, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant; recalled by Belarus in 2008); Chargé d'Affaires Pavel SHIDLOWSKI (since 9 August 2022)
In the us chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 986-1606
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Peter KAUFMAN (since June 2023)
From the us embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220,002
From the us mailing address: 7,010 Minsk Place, Washington DC 20,521-7,010
From the us telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83/217-73-47/217-73-48
From the us FAX: [375] (17) 334-78-53
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red; the red band color recalls past struggles from oppression, the green band represents hope and the many forests of the country

National symbols: no clearly defined current national symbol, the mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser) is the traditional Belarusian symbol; national colors: green, red, white

National anthem
Name: "My, Bielarusy" (We Belarusians)
Lyrics/music: Mikhas KLIMKOVICH and Uladzimir KARYZNA/Nester SAKALOUSKI
Note: music adopted 1955, lyrics adopted 2002; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Belarus kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem but adopted new lyrics; also known as "Dziarzauny himn Respubliki Bielarus" (State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus)

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 4 (3 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Economy overview: 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

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gdp composition by end use
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.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 40.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 51.1% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: milk, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, triticale, barley, maize, rye, rapeseed, poultry

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances

Industrial production growth rate: 6.7% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 4.95 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Note: official registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 11.3% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 14%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 8.4%

Population below poverty line: 5% (2019 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 24.4 (2020 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 3.8%
Highest 10%: 21.9% (2008)

Budget
Revenues: $24.743 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $24.239 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: 2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 12.02% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 1.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Current account balance:

Exports:
Note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Partners: Russia 42%, Ukraine 13%, United Kingdom 7% (2019)
Commodities: fertilizers, refined petroleum, cheese, delivery trucks, lumber (2021)

Imports:
Partners: Russia 57%, China 7%, Poland 5%, Germany 5%, Ukraine 5% (2019)
Commodities: crude petroleum, natural gas, cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, broadcasting equipment (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access 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.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 95.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
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.)

Petroleum
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.)

Refined petroleum
Products production: 477,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 351,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 14,630 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
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.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 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.)

Energy consumption per capita: 102.558 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,229,817 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 45 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 11,760,087 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 123 (2021 est.)

Broadcast media: 7 state-controlled national TV channels; Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas; state-run Belarusian Radio operates 5 national networks and an external service; Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2019)

Internet
Country code: .by
Users total: 8.352 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 87% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 3,255,552 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 35 (2020 est.)

Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:
Note: in early 2023, President LUKASHENKO ordered the formation of a new volunteer paramilitary territorial defense force to supplement the Army

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory military or alternative service; conscript service obligation is 12-18 months, depending on academic qualifications, and 24-36 months for alternative service, also depending on academic qualifications; 17-year-olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2023)
Note: conscripts can be assigned to the military, to the Ministry of Interior as internal or border troops, or to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (alternative service); as of 2020, conscripts comprised an estimated 40% of the military

Space program
Overview: has a modest national space program focused on developing remote sensing (RS) satellites; jointly builds satellites with foreign partners; develops some space technologies and components for space equipment, including satellite payloads and associated technology, such as optics and imaging equipment; has cooperated with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine; has a state-owned satellite company (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

National air transport system
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

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: EW

Airports: 65 (2021)
With paved runways: 33
With paved runways 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.)
With unpaved runways: 32
With unpaved runways 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

Heliports: 1 (2021)

Pipelines: 5,386 km gas, 1,589 km oil, 1,730 km refined products (2013)

Railways
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)

Roadways
Total: 86,600 km (2017)
Paved: (2010)
Unpaved: (2010)

Waterways: 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)

Merchant marine
Total: 4 (2022)
By type: other 4

Ports and terminals
River ports: Mazyr (Prypyats')

Disputes international:

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 32,435 (Ukraine) (as of 1 August 2023)
Stateless persons: 5,626 (2022)

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly regulated financial center; anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards and was weakened further when know-your-customer requirements were curtailed in 2008; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities