Belarus

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Belarus is a landlocked state which is located in the eastern part of Europe and is largely flat due to the European plain. To its northwest it borders Lithuania and Latvia to its northeast and to its east it borders Russia to its south it borders Ukraine and to its east it borders Poland.

Belarus, which literally translates to White Russia, has chosen this name after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The white, or Bela, symbolizes freedom as well as purity and the Rus part represents its Russian heritage. The Belarusian territory has been historically a part of many European empires. It has been dominated by the German, the Polish, the Ukrainian as well as the Russian Empire, with the last being the Soviet Union. It is known for having one of the oldest forests in Europe as well as receiving the largest amount of fallout from the Chernobyl disaster. At present, it is militarily, economically and politically intertwined with Russia.

It has a total surface area of 208,000 square kilometers, or 80,600 square miles which ranks it as the 84th largest state in the world being slightly larger than Kyrgyzstan and slightly smaller than Guiana.

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

It has a total water surface area of 4,700 square kilometers or 1,800 square miles which ranks it as the 67th state with the largest amount of surface water.

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

In total, Belarus is known to have more than 20,000 rivers, 10,000 lakes as well as several ponds. These are well connected to each other with irrigation systems that were constructed during the occupation of the Soviet Union. However, these systems the lack of maintenance and are becoming a health problem for the population. It is estimated that around 2.3 percent of Belarus consists of permanent bodies of water. This makes Belarus the 66th state with the largest percentage of water.

Belarus experiences a temporal continental climate. It is known to have four different seasons with the seasonal change of the northern hemisphere. During the summer, it experiences mild to relatively hot temperatures and its winters are characterized by being harsh and cold with temperatures easily reaching below the freezing point. On average, the temperature in Belarus is around six degrees Celsius or 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit. This ranks Belarus as the 183rd warmest state in the world.

Temperature

Its average highest temperature is 10.7 degrees Celsius or 51.2 degrees Fahrenheit. This mainly occurs during the period between May and September.

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Its coldest average temperature is 2.2 degrees Celsius or 35.9 degrees Fahrenheit which ranks it as the 18th coldest state in the world.

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Belarus receives precipitation all year round with the largest share of rainfall occurring between April and October. From November until March, Belarus receives mostly snowfall. On average, Belarus receives around 65 centimeters or 25 inches of rainfall per year.

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The capital of Belarus is Minsk, which is home to around 2 million people. The capital that is closest to Minsk is Vilnius Lithuania with a distance of 190 kilometers or 118 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Minsk is Wellington New Zealand with a distance of 17,200 kilometers or 10,680 miles.

During the time that Belarus was the Socialist Republic under the Soviet Union, most of its systems were of high standards. However, poor maintenance, as well as the inability to modernize has left the economy of Belarus in a decaying state. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Belarusian economy shrank largely. As a result, Russia had given economic aids to Belarus. This has led to closer ties between Belarus and the Russian Federation and has led to economic favoritism and reduced prices. At present, the Belarusian economy is largely state controlled with the Belarusian government owning more than 80 percent of the economy. Its main sources of exports are petroleum related products, machinery as well as fertilizer. Its largest trading partner is Russia, which represents more than half of its total imports and more than 40 percent of its total exports.

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

In total, Belarus is a member of 12 international economic organizations. This ranks Belarus is the 90th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Eurasian Development Bank
Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)
Energy Charter Treaty
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance

Its GDP is just under US$60 billion. This ranks Belarus as the 81st highest GDP in the world’s representing around 0.07 percent of total global GDP.

The GDP per capita of the Belarusian citizens is around US$6290 which ranks it as the 90th highest in the world.

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Belarussian citizen makes.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$2856 or US$7392 per square mile. This ranks Belarus as the 117th highest GDP per surface area.

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

The purchasing power, however, is around US$19,452 per capita. This ranks the Belarusian citizens with the 70th highest purchasing power.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of Belarus with the rest of the world.

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in Belarus.

The main languages that are spoken within Belarus are Russian and Belarusian. These are mainly spoken by ethnic Belarusians which represent around 80 percent of the total population of just under 10 million people. Other languages that are spoken within Belarus are Polish, Ukrainian and Lithuanian. These are mainly in the border area as well as small communities within Belarus.

Population

Population density

The population density of Belarus is around 117 people per square mile or 45 people per square kilometer. This ranks Belarus as the 134th most densely populated state in the world.

Emigration

Most of the people who have emigrated from Belarus have done so to Russia. This emigration has mainly taken place after the fall of the Soviet Union and during the time of the Soviet Union when there were better job opportunities within Russia. It is estimated that a total of 1.5 million people have emigrated from Belarus (half of which reside in Russia) which represents around 15.6 percent of the total population and ranks Belarus is 49th state with the highest emigration.

Immigration

At the same time, the largest share of immigrants also come from Russia. Representing around 60 percent of the 1 million people that immigrated to Belarus.

Literacy

Between the ages of six and 15, children are obliged to go to school. During this period, children obtain the basic reading skills and have done so for nearly a century. As a result, Belarus has the 14th highest share of literacy in the world with a percentage of 99.4.

Health

After the fall of the Soviet Union, healthcare broke down and life expectancy plummeted. In recent decades it has been slowly getting back to its former standards. Other causes that are related to healthcare is the Chernobyl disaster which covered around 40 percent of Belarusian territory with radioactive waste. This waste is still radioactive and is known to be the causes of several cancers as well as birth defects that plague the Belarusian citizens to this day. On average, the life expectancy is around 75.2 years with women averaging around 79.9 years and men averaging around 70.1 years.

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Even though the Belarusian Constitution provides freedom of religion, religious freedom has been tailored towards the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Other religions have experienced discrimination by the citizens of Belarus as well as the Belarusian government. At present, Belarus is ranked as the 52nd most multi religious state in the world.

Around 68.5 percent of Belarusian citizens adhere to the Christian faith. This is mainly the Orthodox Christian faith that stems from the Byzantine Empire and is heavily linked with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

The share of adherents to Islam is relatively small in Belarus. It has some Islamic history around the 15th century with the Tatars and at the start of the 20th century. However, with the communist takeover of Belarus, religion has been banned and houses of worship have been destroyed, including mosques. At present, around 0.38 percent of the Belarusian population adheres to the Islamic faith which ranks it as the 139th most Islamic state in the world.

As a result of the religious repression by the communist regime, Buddhism has started in Belarus as an underground movement and was mainly practiced by scholars. At present, it is estimated that around 0.06 percent of the Belarusian population adheres to the Buddhist faith.

Buddhism (share of the total population)

The share of Hindus within Belarus is around 0.03 percent of the total population. There are three main Hindu institutions within Belarus which are banned or repressed by the current Belarusian government.

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Before the start of the second world war, the share of Jews within Belarus was more than 10 percent of the total population. However, after the partition of Belarus between the Soviet Union and following the Soviet Polish war, half of the Jewish population came under Polish jurisdiction. After the second world war, the remaining Jews went from Belarus to other parts of the world. The remaining Jewish population represents around 0.05 percent of the total population.

Other religions (share of the total population)

Other religions, such as paganism as well as Slavic paganism represents around 0.07 percent the total Belarusian population.

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Around 19.1 percent of the Belarusian population consider themselves being atheist. There have been some reports that, with the help of the Belarusian government, state atheism and the repression of religion has taken place.

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Belarus and around US$718 million on its military which is roughly 1.55 percent of its GDP. This makes Belarus the 82nd highest military spender in the world.

The Belarusian army, also known as the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, is divided up into two branches. These are the Air Force and the ground forces. Due to Belarus being a landlocked state, it does not have a Navy.

Military membership

Belarus is also a member of nine international military organizations, which ranks it as the 34th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Collective Security Treaty Organization
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Nuclear Suppliers Group
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement
Collective Security Treaty Organization

Military membership

International wars

In total, the state of Belarus has partaken in six international wars. These mainly occurs before the communist takeover and after independence in 1991. It has partaken in the following international wars:

World War I 1914-1918
Eritrean–Ethiopian War 1998-2000
First Ivorian Civil War 2001-2007
War in Darfur 2003-present
Houthi insurgency in Yemen 2004-2015
Libyan Civil War 2011-2011

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

in total, Belarus is a member of 10 international political organizations which ranks it as the 113th most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member states of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Central European Initiative
Commonwealth of Independent States
Union State
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Due to the fact that the president of Belarus holds all the power, it is ranked as the 152nd most democratic state in the world. Even though demonstrations have taken place in Belarus that argue for a more democratic system, these demonstrations have been repressed and the status quo is upheld.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Belarus is characterized by being an authoritarian state. Even though Belarus is headed by a president who is directly elected as well as having a Parliament, in practice the president holds all the power.