Belarus

noun:

Belarusian(s)

adjective:

Belarusian

total:

42.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

39.5 years

female:

45 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.51 male(s)/female

total population:

0.88 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

2.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

2.5 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

1.7 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

74.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

69.8 years

female:

80 years

total:

10.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

4.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

2.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

30.5% (2020 est.)

male:

47.4% (2020 est.)

female:

13.5% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.1%

women married by age 18:

4.7%

men married by age 18:

1.6% (2019 est.)

urban population:

80.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

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.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

4.28 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

684,800 tons (2016 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

16% (2016 est.)

municipal:

550 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

410 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

370 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

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

• 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

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;
• note -one of several amendments passed in the February 2022 referendum - the presidential 5-year, two-term limit - will be imposed after the 2025 election

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

chief of state:

President Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (since 20 July 1994)

head of government:

Prime Minister Roman GOLOVCHENKO (since 4 June 2020)

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:

• 2020: Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA reelected president;
• percent of vote - Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (independent) 80.1%, Svyatlana TSIKHANOWSKAYA (independent) 10.1%, other 9.8%;
• note - widespread street protests erupted following announcement of the election results amid allegations of voter fraud

;

• 2015: Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA elected president;
• percent of vote - Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (independent) 84.1%, Tatsyana KARATKEVIC (BSDPH) 4.4%, Sergey GAYDUKEVICH (LDP) 3.3%, other 8.2%.

highest court(s):

• 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

• Belaya Rus or BR
• Republican Party of Labour and Justice or RPTS
• Communist Party of Belarus or CBP
• Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus or LDPB

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant; recalled by Belarus in 2008); Chargé d'Affaires Pavel SHIDLOWSKI (since 9 August 2022)

chancery:

1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 986-1606

FAX:

[1] (202) 986-1805

email address and website:

[email protected]; Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United States of America (mfa.gov.by)

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Peter KAUFMAN (since June 2023)

embassy:

46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002

mailing address:

7010 Minsk Place, Washington DC 20521-7010

telephone:

[375] (17) 210-12-83

FAX:

[375] (17) 334-78-53

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://by.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

4 (3 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Białowieża Forest (n);
• Mir Castle Complex (c);
• Architectural, Residential, and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh (c)

• 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

Fitch rating:

B (2018)

Moody's rating:

B3 (2018)

Standard & Poors rating: B (2017)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

7.3% (2023 est.)

industry:

32.5% (2023 est.)

services:

47.8% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

10.2% (2023 est.)

male:

10.7% (2023 est.)

female:

9.8% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

31.7% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

7.7% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

4.4% (2020 est.)

highest 10%:

20.7% (2020 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

2 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

2.22GW (2023 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

28.6% (2023 est.)

consumption:

778,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

1.213 million metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

2.467 million metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

30,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

131,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

198 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

73.929 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

16.683 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

16.688 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

2.832 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the government of Belarus has successfully promoted the migration to an all-internet protocol (IP) platform as part of a wider effort towards a digital transformation for the economy;
• the state-supported infrastructure operator has built an extensive fiber network which reaches all but the smallest settlements in the country;
• Belarus has the second highest fiber usage rate in Europe, behind only Iceland;
• long-term evolution (LTE) coverage is almost universal, while considerable progress has also been made in developing 5G services;
• telcos have had to invest in network infrastructure while managing a significant fall in the value of the local currency (particularly against the euro and the US dollar) (2024)

domestic:

fixed-line tele density 44 per 100 fixed-line; mobile-cellular tele density 123 telephones per 100 persons (2022)

international:

• country code - 375;
• Belarus is landlocked and therefore a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL);
• 3 fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine;
• worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure;
• additional analog lines to Russia;
• Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations;
• almost 31,000 base stations in service in 2019 (2020)

• 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)

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

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)

total:

4 (2023)

by type:

other 4

• the military's inventory is comprised mostly of Russian and Soviet-origin equipment;
• Belarus's defense industry manufactures some equipment (mostly modernized Soviet designs), including vehicles, guided weapons, and electronic warfare systems (2024)

• 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, or to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (alternative service)