Demographics of Belarus

Belarus: Population and rural population 1913-2008 (beginning of year). Source: official statistics from BelStat.

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. The ethnic majority in Belarus are called Belarusians.

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. After that the population began a steady decline, dropping to 9.7 million in 2006-2007. 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.

Population

9,608,058 (July 2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 93

Age structure

Population pyramid of Belarus

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

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.

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

After WW II

	Average population (x 1000)	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	197 200	62 000	135 200	25.5	8.0	17.5
1951	7 765	198 200	61 200	137 000	25.5	7.9	17.6
1952	7 721	191 100	64 200	126 900	24.8	8.3	16.4
1953	7 690	176 200	61 900	114 300	22.9	8.0	14.9
1954	7 722	193 100	61 600	131 500	25.0	8.0	17.0
1955	7 804	194 400	58 000	136 400	24.9	7.4	17.5
1956	7 880	199 500	56 000	143 500	25.3	7.1	18.2
1957	7 936	200 800	58 000	142 800	25.3	7.3	18.0
1958	8 009	207 700	53 700	154 000	25.9	6.7	19.2
1959	8 112	204 600	62 600	142 000	25.2	7.7	17.5
1960	8 190	200 218	54 037	146 181	24.4	6.6	17.8	2.80	170 787
1961	8 284	194 239	53 682	140 557	23.4	6.5	17.0	2.61	178 290
1962	8 385	185 302	60 676	124 626	22.1	7.2	14.9	2.57	185 554
1963	8 458	173 889	58 291	115 598	20.6	6.9	13.7	2.46	191 137
1964	8 519	161 794	53 967	107 827	19.0	6.3	12.7	2.36	200 534
1965	8 607	153 865	58 156	95 709	17.9	6.8	11.1	2.27	205 999
1966	8 709	153 414	58 265	95 149	17.6	6.7	10.9	2.28	203 430
1967	8 800	147 501	61 263	86 238	16.8	7.0	9.8	2.26	203 722
1968	8 877	146 095	62 354	83 741	16.5	7.0	9.4	2.23	198 955
1969	8 957	142 652	65 912	76 740	15.9	7.4	8.6	2.18	191 637
1970	9 038	146 676	68 974	77 702	16.2	7.6	8.6	2.30	187 935
1971	9 112	149 135	68 511	80 624	16.4	7.5	8.8	2.34	190 169
1972	9 178	147 813	71 866	75 947	16.1	7.8	8.3	2.36	185 101
1973	9 245	144 729	73 927	70 802	15.7	8.0	7.7	2.29	193 503
1974	9 312	146 876	73 181	73 695	15.8	7.9	7.9	2.24	194 247
1975	9 367	146 517	79 701	66 816	15.6	8.5	7.1	2.20	194 710
1976	9 411	147 912	82 400	65 512	15.7	8.8	7.0	2.16	199 121
1977	9 463	148 963	84 565	64 398	15.7	8.9	6.8	2.11	202 146
1978	9 525	151 053	86 612	64 441	15.9	9.1	6.8	2.08	201 619
1979	9 590	151 800	90 837	60 963	15.8	9.5	6.4	2.05	203 446
1980	9 658	154 432	95 514	58 918	16.0	9.9	6.1	2.04	201 852
1981	9 732	157 899	93 136	64 763	16.2	9.6	6.7	2.08	202 340
1982	9 804	159 364	93 840	65 524	16.3	9.6	6.7	2.02	198 011
1983	9 872	173 510	97 849	75 661	17.6	9.9	7.7	2.09	207 461
1984	9 938	168 749	104 274	64 475	17.0	10.5	6.5	2.14	210 844
1985	9 999	165 034	105 690	59 344	16.6	10.6	5.9	2.09	200 888
1986	10 058	171 611	97 276	74 335	17.1	9.7	7.4	2.10	171 114
1987	10 111	162 937	99 921	63 016	16.2	9.9	6.2	2.04	163 761
1988	10 144	163 193	102 671	60 522	16.1	10.1	6.0	2.031	140 921
1989	10 171	153 449	103 479	49 970	15.1	10.2	4.9	2.02	256 041
1990	10 190	142 167	109 582	32 585	14.0	10.8	3.2	1.91	260 839
1991	10 194	132 045	114 650	17 395	13.0	11.2	1.7	1.80	241 138
1992	10 217	127 971	116 674	11 297	12.5	11.4	1.1	1.76	240 387
1993	10 240	117 384	128 544	-11 160	11.5	12.6	-1.1	1.62	217 957
1994	10 227	110 599	130 003	-19 404	10.8	12.7	-1.9	1.53	212 533
1995	10 194	101 144	133 775	-32 631	9.9	13.1	-3.2	1.40	193 280
1996	10 160	95 798	133 422	-37 624	9.4	13.1	-3.7	1.33	174 098
1997	10 118	89 586	136 653	-47 067	8.9	13.5	-4.7	1.25	152 660
1998	10 069	92 645	137 296	-44 651	9.2	13.6	-4.4	1.30	145 339
1999	10 032	92 975	142 027	-49 052	9.3	14.2	-4.9	1.31	135 829
2000	9 988	93 691	134 867	-41 176	9.4	13.5	-4.1	1.31	121 895
2001	9 929	91 720	140 299	-48 579	9.2	14.1	-4.9	1.28	101 402
2002	9 866	88 743	146 665	-57 922	9.0	14.9	-5.9	1.24	89 895
2003	9 797	88 512	143 200	-54 688	9.0	14.6	-5.6	1.23	80 174
2004	9 730	88 943	140 064	-51 121	9.1	14.4	-5.3	1.23	71 700
2005	9 664	90 508	141 857	-51 349	9.4	14.7	-5.3	1.25	64 655
2006	9 605	96 721	138 426	-41 705	10.1	14.4	-4.3	1.33	58 516
2007	9 561	103 626	132 993	-29 367	10.8	13.9	-3.1	1.42	46 287
2008	9 528	107 876	133 879	-26 003	11.3	14.1	-2.7	1.48	42 197
2009	9 507	109 263	135 056	-25 793	11.5	14.2	-2.7	1.50	35 967
2010	9 491	108 050	137 305	-29 255	11.4	14.5	-3.1	1.49	27 662
2011	9 473	109 147	135 099	-25 952	11.5	14.3	-2.7	1.51	26 858
2012	9 464	115 893	126 531	-10 638	12.2	13.4	-1.2	1.62
2013	9 468	117 997	125 326	-7 329	12.5	13.2	-0.7	1.67
2014	9 469	118 697	121 601	-2 904	12.5	12.8	-0.3	1.70

(p) provisional

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)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 72.15 years

country comparison to the world: 138

Male: 66.53 years

Female: 78.1 years (2014 est.)

Natural increase current

The number of births during the period January–September 2015 which decreased 262 over the same period in 2014. The birth rate for January–September 2015 was 12,5 children per 1,000 people which is higher than during the period January–September 2014 when the rate was 12,6. Total birth in 2014 :

-Number of births from January–September 2014 = 89,241

-Number of births from January–September 2015 = 88,979

Conversely the number of deaths during the same period was down decreased to 46. The mortality rate for the period January–September 2015 was 12,8 and 12,8 for the same period in 2014.

-Number of deaths from January–September 2014 = 90,786

-Number of deaths from January–September 2015 = 90,740

Total natural increase during January-September 2015 has halved during the same period from a decrease of -0,3 in 1000 and each -0,2 in 1000 during the period January–September 2014.

Natural increase between January–September 2014 = -1,545

Natural increase between January–September 2015 = -1,761

Natural population growth in Belarus, 2010

Birth rate (per 1000)		Death rate (per 1000)		Natural growth rate (per 1000)

Ethnic groups

Belarusians 81.2%, Russians 11.4%, Poles 3.9%, Ukrainians 2.4%, Jews 0.3%, Armenians 0.1%, Lipka Tatars 0.1%, Ruska Roma 0.1%, Lithuanians 0.1%, Azerbaijanis 0.1%, others 0.3% (1999 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 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).

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: [4]. 2 Source: [5].

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).

After the war, a large number of Poles (including Catholic Belarusians) 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 Ruska Roma (Russian Gypsies) who account for about 10,000 each.

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 Azeris, whose numbers increased from less than 2,000 in 1959 to around 10,000 in 1999.

Ethnic composition of Belarus according to 2009 census

				190px
Belarusian		Russians		Poles		Ukrainians

Population of Belarus according to ethnic group 1959-2009

Ethnic group	census 19591		census 19702		census 19793		census 19894		census 19995		census 20096
	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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Romani	4,662	0.1	6,843	0.1	8,408	0.1	10,762	0.1	9,900	0.1	7,316	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
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
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
Total	8,054,648		9,002,338		9,532,516		10,151,806		10,045,200		9,503,807
1 Source: [6]. 2 Source: [7]. 3 Source: [8]. 4 Source: [9]. 5 Source: [10]. 6 Source: [11].

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).

Languages of Belarus according to 2009 census (green - Belarusian, blue - Russian)

		250px
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.

Urbanization

Urban population: 75% of total population (2011)

Rate of urbanization: 0.21% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

See also

• List of cities in Belarus