Population and Demographics of Belarus
Population declining at 0.65% in 2024 · 17.67% aged 65 or older
The 2024 population estimate places Belarus at 9.06 million people, while annual population change stands at -0.65%. The fertility estimate of 1.2 should be read with the age profile, where 16.30% are children and 17.67% are older adults. Under the UN medium scenario, the 2050 total is 7.45 million, a 17.7% decrease from 2024.
Population Over Time in Belarus
A longer view puts Belarus at 9.991M in 2000 and 9.057M in 2024. That works out to a 9.4% fall. For 2050, the medium projection is 7.454M. That is a difference of about 1.60 million people from the 2024 estimate. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
Belarus has a maturing demographic profile in the 2024 broad age data. Broad age shares are 16.30% under 15, 66.03% aged 15 to 64 and 17.67% aged 65 or older. The youngest and oldest broad age groups are relatively close in size.
Population by broad age group
Belarus's 2024 population is 53.4% female and 46.6% male in the World Bank series. Females exceed males by 6.8 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Females made up 53.4% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 46.6% males.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Fertility is 1.2 in Belarus, while annual population change is -0.65% in 2024, and 66.03% of residents fall in the broad 15-to-64 age group.
Historical change in Belarus totals -9.3% between 2000 and 2024, before a projected -17.7% shift to 2050 under the medium scenario; the page therefore distinguishes measured direction from unmeasured demographic drivers.
2024 estimate for Belarus. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Belarus vs. World
Relative to the 2024 world benchmarks, Belarus's population change is lower than the global rate, its fertility is below the global level, and its population is older than the corresponding global median-age profile.
| Indicator | Belarus | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | -0.65% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.2 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 41 | 30.6 | 2024 |
This comparison avoids mixed-year arithmetic by keeping Belarus and the world on the same 2024 harmonized demographic table.
Key Takeaways
Belarus has 9,056,696 people in the 2024 estimate, with the population changing -0.65% over the year.
Broad age shares show 17.67% aged 65+ compared with 16.30% under 15; the 15 to 64 group accounts for 66.03%.
The 2024 female and male shares are 53.4% and 46.6% respectively.
The 2050 medium projection is 7.454M, 17.7% below the 2024 estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Belarus?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Belarus is 9,056,696 people.
Is the population of Belarus growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Belarus's population is declining, with annual change of -0.65%.
What percentage of the population of Belarus is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 17.67% of Belarus's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Belarus in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Belarus's 2050 population at 7,453,546.
What is the fertility rate in Belarus?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Belarus is 1.2 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.