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. 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 rural population saw its share of the total population decrease from 70% in 1959 to less than 30% in the 2000s.
Population
9,491,800 (January 2018 est.) country comparison to the world:'’ 92
Age structure
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 ageTotal: 39.4 yearsMale: 36.3 yearsFemale: 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.)
Life expectancy at birth Total population: 72.15 yearscountry comparison to the world: 138Male: 66.53 yearsFemale: 78.1 years (2014 est.)
Total fertility rate (TFR) in Belarus by region and year
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
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.
After WWII
Source: National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus
Current vital statistics
Structure of the population
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).
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 were forced to move to Poland. In exchange, Belarusians from the former Belastok Region, 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 about 10,000 of Ruska Roma (Russian Gypsies).