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 call themselves Belarusians.

[edit] 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.^[1] After that the population began a steady decline, dropping to 9.7 million in 2006-2007.^[2] 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.^[3]

[edit] 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%, Azeris 0.1%, others 0.3% (1999 census).^[1]

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).^[4] 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 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 0.28% of the population (less than 28,000 in 1999).

The Poles were the fourth largest ethnic group before World War II, comprising 1%-2% of the population in the pre-war censuses (less than 100,000).^[4] 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 ceded to Poland in 1945, were displaced to Belarus. Due to changes in the western border of Belarus after World War II, the number of Poles 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. Armenians, Lipka Tatars (Lithuanian Tatars), and Ruska Roma (Russian Gypsies) account for about 10,000 each. There is also a growing number of Azeris (up from 1,400 in 1959 to 6,400 in 1999).

In the post-war period Belarus experienced an influx of workers from other parts of the Soviet Union, not just Russians and Ukrainians but also smaller numbers from non-Slavic regions, such as Central Asia, the Volga basin and the Caucasus. 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. ^[1]

Ethnic composition of the population of Belarus (in percent) 1959–1999^[1]

[edit] Languages

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 63% of the population (1999 census). Even among ethnic Belarusians nearly 60% normally speak Russian at home. Ukrainians and Jews also speak mostly Russian. Poles are the ethnic group who most frequently use Belarusian at home (58%), but the rest speak mainly Russian, with less than 5% reporting Polish as the language normally used within the family.

Language normally spoken at home, % of population in respective ethnic group^[5]

[edit] CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Population pyramid of Belarus

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless indicated otherwise.

[edit] Population

10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)

The Belarus National Statistics Office estimate is considerably lower at 9,690,000 (end 2007).^[2]

[edit] Age structure

0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)

15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950)

65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.)

[edit] Median age

Total: 37.2 years

Male: 34.5 years

Female: 39.9 years (2006 est.)

[edit] Population growth rate

-0.06% (2006 est.)

[edit] Birth rate

11.0 births/1,000 population (2008 Jan-Aug)^[6]

In 2007 103,425 children were born^[7]

[edit] Death rate

13.7 deaths/1,000 population (2008 Jan-Aug)^[6]

In 2007 there were 132,855 deaths^[7]

[edit] Net migration rate

2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

[edit] Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

[edit] Infant mortality rate

Total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 69.08 years

Male: 63.47 years

Female: 74.98 years (2006 est.)

[edit] Total fertility rate

1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)

[edit] HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (2001 est.)

Deaths: 1,000 (2001 est.)

[edit] Nationality

Noun: Belarusian(s)

Adjective: Belarusian

[edit] Religions

According to 1997 estimates, 80% of the religious population belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church and most of the rest were Roman Catholic. There were also small numbers of Protestants, Muslims, and Jews. During the times of the Soviet Union the majority of population was atheistic, and this situation did not change significantly after independence, although the number of people declaring themselves religious grows. Catholics, Jews, and Muslims mostly reside in western Belarus.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over who can read and write

Total population: 99.6%

Male: 99.8%

Female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

[edit] Cities

See List of cities in Belarus

[edit] References

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.