Belarus (Republic of Belarus, Belarus) is one of the states of Eastern Europe. The population in 2018 was 9 million 491 thousand 823 people. The area of the republic is 207,600 km2. By the number of inhabitants, it is in 93rd place in the world. The capital is the city of Minsk. It is also the largest in the country. The demographic situation in the Republic of Belarus is unfavorable, but is gradually improving. Forecasts are not yet very optimistic, but they are not catastrophic. A gradual decline in the number of residents is expected.
Geography
Belarus shares borders with Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Poland and Russia. This country is the only one in Eastern Europe with which Russia still maintains more or less friendly relations. Thanks in large part to thisRussian, along with Belarusian, is considered the state language of the republic. The monetary unit is the Belarusian ruble.
Form of government
By the nature of governance, Belarus has many similarities with Russia. It is a unitary, presidential republic, where Alexander Lukashenko has ruled since 1994. However, Belarusian legislation does not limit the number of terms for the incumbent president. Unlike Russia, Belarus is more in line with the socialist regime in terms of the nature of governance, which allows maintaining an acceptable standard of living for the population (generally higher than in Russia), even despite the absence of fossil natural resources and sources of timber. In particular, this form of government allowed the country to preserve the forests existing on its territory, while in Russia and Ukraine, their intensive felling has been observed in recent years.
Economy of Belarus
The basis of the economy is a socialist-oriented way of managing, with the dominance of state ownership. Typical planning, centralized distribution and state regulation of prices. The absence of significant sources of hydrocarbons and the accumulated external debt are the main inhibitory factors in the development of the economy.
The most developed sectors of the economy: agriculture, engineering, forestry, energy and chemistry.
Population of the Republic of Belarus
The population of Belarus in recentyears is quite stable and is at the level of 9.5 million people. According to this indicator, it ranks 93rd in the world. In relation to other European countries, Belarus has an average number of inhabitants. In comparison with other CIS countries, their number is less than in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The population density for the whole country is 46 people/km2. However, its distribution across the territory is rather uneven. Most of all (28%) residents live in the Minsk agglomeration.
The share of citizens in the total population is 77%. The most populous are Minsk (1,938,280 people) and Gomel with 516,976 inhabitants.
Modern demographic situation in Belarus
Belarus has a downward trend in population. Until the 1990s, it grew, but the growth rate began to fall since the 1970s. The maximum number of inhabitants reached in 1994. Then the republic was inhabited by 10,243,500 people. Then the population began to gradually decline, after which, since the end of the 2000s, it has remained practically unchanged. According to forecasts, its decline will continue, but at a slowing rate, and will stop only by 2100 (stopping at 5.7 million people), after which it will begin to grow.
The reasons for the decline in the population are a combination of low birth rates and high death rates, as well as migration flows, the spread of one-child families, and frequent divorces.
However, the number of urban residents is growing. Accordingly, the proportion of citizens is also increasing.
Gradually, the demographic indicators in the country are improving. There is a gradual increase in the birth rate and a decrease in mortality. But the death rate still exceeds the birth rate. Over the past decades, the level of infant mortality and mortality of mothers giving birth has sharply decreased. In this regard, the country is not inferior to developed countries, having a better situation than in other CIS countries.
Natural growth is gradually leaving the negative zone. So, in 2002 it was -4.1 people, and in 2012 - -3 people. (per 1000 inhabitants).
In the age structure, the proportion of older people is high. In the sex structure, the proportion of women is higher. For every woman in the country, there are 0.87 men. However, at a young and middle age, the representatives of both sexes are approximately equal.
Ethnic composition of the population
The most common nationality are Belarusians (83.7%). In second place are Russians (8.3%). On the third - Poles (3.1%), and on the fourth - Ukrainians (1.7%). There are much fewer Jews, Armenians, Tatars, Gypsies, Azerbaijanis and Lithuanians in the republic. There are also some representatives of other nationalities.
The highest proportion of Belarusians in rural areas. The percentage of Russians is more significant in the east, and there are more Poles in the northwest. Previously, this dependence was more pronounced. Now the population is more mixed.
Religious and linguistic composition
In 2011, 3321 religious organizations operated in the republic, while in 1989 there were only 768.of the population (68%) adhered to Orthodoxy, 14% - the Catholic worldview, and the remaining 3% preferred other religions.
Belarus has 2 official languages: Russian and Belarusian. They are compulsory subjects for study in the schools of the country. Almost the entire population can express themselves in both languages.
Conclusion
Thus, the demographic situation in the Republic of Belarus is rather unfavorable. This is due to high mortality and low birth rates. However, the socio-demographic situation in Belarus is gradually improving. First of all, this is due to a decrease in mortality. The main directions for improving the demographic situation in the Republic of Belarus are the further reduction of mortality, the transition to families with two or three children to ensure the full reproduction of the population, the development of incentive measures, the improvement of the economy through the transition from hydrocarbon dependence to the development of alternative energy technologies and electric transport, etc. However, while forecasts show a further decline in the population.
