Presidential republic (in fact a dictatorship)
Official:
Republic of Belarus
Local name:
Беларусь
Region:
Eastern Europe
Surface area:
207,600 km²
Capital:
Minsk
Geography
Belarus is a landlocked country at the border with Russia. The land has a total area of 207,600 km² (80,155 mi²). This land area is approximately 101% of the area of Minnesota. Belarus is thus one of the largest countries in Europe and the 86th biggest in the world. An exceptionally high proportion of residents (80%) belongs to the urban population. More than every fifth resident lives in Minsk.
Belarus is comparatively low at an average elevation of 160 meters above sea level. The highest elevation in the country (Dsjarschynskaja Hara) is 346 meters. There is no access to the open sea. There are direct national borders with the five neighboring countries Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. The distance between New York City and the Capital Minsk is about 7,130 km (4,430 mi).
On further pages:
Current time in Belarus:
00:00
March 2024
The countrywide time in Belarus is Moscow Standard Time (MSK), which is currently 8 hours ahead of New York.
As in many countries, there is no daylight savings time in Belarus.
Related to Greenwich Mean Time, there's the same difference of 3 hours all over the year.
Population
Population:9,228,000
Population per km²:44.45
Life expectancy males:Ø 67.3 years
Life expectancy females:
Ø 77.7 years
Birth rate:
9.3 ‰
Death rate:
16.5 ‰
Males/Females:
46.0% : 54.0%
Population pyramid
The currency in Belarus is the Belarus rubel (BYR).
1 Rubel is divided into 100 Kapejek.
Status: 03/08/2024
1 US dollar = 19,607 Rubels
100.000 Rubels = 5.10 US dollar
Climate in Belarus
A moderate climate zone determines the weather in Belarus. As usual in the northern hemisphere, the days in the summer months are not only warmer but also longer. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between -2 and 25 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 26 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to -7 °C in a month's average.
Average daytime and nighttime temperatures
Languages
Official languages:
Russian, Belarusian
| Mother tongue | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Russian | 70.2 % |
| Belarusian | 23.4 % |
| Ukrainian | 1.3 % |
| Polish | 0.6 % |
| other | 4.5 % |
Economy
| GDP: | 72.79 bn $ |
| Exportations: | 46,845.6 M $ |
| Importations: | 42,280.0 M $ |
| › Tourism receipts: | 662.00 M $ |
| Debt rate: | 39.75 % |
| › Unemployment rate: | 4.17 % |
| › Inflation rate: | 15.21 % |
| › Corruption index: | 39 (bad) |
| › Energy consumption: | 32.7 bn kWh |
According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Belarus is a developing country because of its lower economic performance. Belarus is regarded as a so-called pariah state because of its politics and unwillingness to cooperate with the UN. With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.808, it counts as one of the high developed economies by UN definition.
With an average annual income of 7,210 USD it is one of the upper middle-income countries.
Land use
| 4% Urban areas: | 7,783 km² |
| 42% Agricultural areas: | 87,794 km² |
| 43% Forest: | 89,662 km² |
| 2% Water areas: | 4,612 km² |
| 11% Others: | 22,360 km² |
Transport
| Roadways: | 86,600 km |
| Railways: | 5,459 km |
| Waterways: | 1,889 km |
| Reg. vehicles: | 3,229,935 |
| › Airports: |
Most important cities
Population refers to the city proper, not metropolitan areas.
| City | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Minsk / Capital | Minsk | 2,018,000 |
| Gomel | Gomel | 510,000 |
| Vitebsk | Vitebsk | 365,000 |
| Mogilev | Mogilev | 357,000 |
| Grodno | Grodnenskaya | 356,000 |
| Brest | Brest | 339,000 |
| Babruysk | Mogilev | 221,000 |
| Baranovichi | Brest | 175,000 |
| Borisov | Minsk | 141,000 |
| Pinsk | Brest | 126,000 |
| Novoye Medvezhino | Minsk | 120,000 |
| Orsha | Vitebsk | 108,000 |
| Mozir | Gomel | 106,000 |
| Lida | Grodnenskaya | 103,000 |
| Soligorsk | Minsk | 102,000 |
| Maladzyechna | Minsk | 101,000 |
| Novopolotsk | Vitebsk | 99,000 |
| Polatsk | Vitebsk | 82,000 |
| Zhlobin | Gomel | 73,000 |
| Svyetlahorsk | Gomel | 71,000 |
| Slonim | Grodnenskaya | 51,000 |
| Kobryn | Brest | 51,000 |
| Vawkavysk | Grodnenskaya | 47,000 |
Political indicators
(Based on the "Worldwide Governance Indicators" project of the World Bank)
| Political stability: | ◈ |
| Rule of law: | ◈ |
| Effectivity: | ◈ |
| Regulatory quality: | ◈ |
| Voice accountability: | ◈ |
| Autocracy Index: | ◈ |
| Death penalty: | Legally allowed |
Existing trade agreements
Alliances
Country comparison: Belarus / United StatesThe United States of America and Belarus compared: demography, Economy, energy, languages and further dimensions.
Russia: country data and statisticsRussia in numbers: demographics, economy, energy, climate and more data and comparisons with other countries.
List of 152 developing countriesList of all 152 developing countries with below-average living standards
