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Belarus Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Belarus
Capital Minsk
Area 207,595 sq km
80,153 sq mi
Belarus: Flag and Anthem
Belarus: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 9,648,533 (2009 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate -0.38 percent (2009 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 9,033,301 (2009 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 7,738,613 (2009 estimate)
Population density 47 persons per sq km (2009 estimate)
120 persons per sq mi (2009 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 72 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 28 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Minsk 1,705,000 (2003 estimate)
Homel’ 480,000 (2001 estimate)
Mahilyow 360,600 (2001 estimate)
Vitsyebsk 341,500 (2001 estimate)
Grodno 307,100 (2001 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Belarusian 77.9 percent
Russian 13.2 percent
Polish 4.1 percent
Ukrainian 2.9 percent
Other 1.9 percent
Languages
Belarusian (official), Russian (official), Polish, Ukranian, other
Religious affiliations
Eastern Orthodox 49 percent
Roman Catholic 13 percent
Atheist 9 percent
Nonreligious 24 percent
Other 5 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 70.6 years (2009 estimate)
Female 76.7 years (2009 estimate)
Male 65 years (2009 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 6 deaths per 1,000 live births (2009 estimate)
Literacy rate
Total 99.7 percent (2007 estimate)
Female 99.7 percent (2007 estimate)
Male 99.8 percent (2007 estimate)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $44.8 billion (2007)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $4,614.90 (2007)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 9.4 percent (2007)
Industry 42.3 percent (2007)
Services 48.4 percent (2007)
Monetary unit 1 Belarusian ruble (Rbl), consisting of 100 kopeks
Major trade partners for exports
Russia, Latvia, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands
Major trade partners for imports
Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Italy
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
© 2009 Microsoft