THE WORLD FACTBOOK — Reference Edition 2026

Background: After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. In 1999, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union, envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place and negotiations on further integration have been contentious. Since taking office in 1994 as the country's first and only directly elected president, Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on political and civil freedoms, freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion have remained in place. Restrictions on political freedoms have tightened in the wake of the disputed presidential election in 2020. The election results sparked large-scale protests as members of the opposition and civil society criticized the election’s validity. LUKASHENKA has remained in power as the disputed winner of the presidential election after quelling protests in 2020. Since 2022, Belarus has facilitated Russia's war in Ukraine, which was launched in part from Belarusian territory.

Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 207,600 sq km
land: 202,900 sq km
water: 4,700 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries: total: 3,599 km
border countries: Latvia 161 km; Lithuania 640 km; Poland 375 km; Russia 1,312 km; Ukraine 1,111 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat with much marshland
Elevation: highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
mean elevation: 160 m
Natural resources: timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Land use: agricultural land: 39.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 27.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 11.7% (2023 est.)
forest: 44% (2023 est.)
other: 16.5% (2023 est.)
Irrigated land: 260 sq km (2022)
Major rivers (by length in km): Dnyapro (Dnieper) (shared with Russia [s] and Ukraine [m]) - 2,287 kmnote: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major watersheds (area sq km): Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Dnieper (533,966 sq km)
Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
Natural hazards: large tracts of marshy land
Geography - note: landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes

Population: total: 9,460,972 (2025 est.)
male: 4,414,771
female: 5,046,201
Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic groups: Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)
Languages: Languages: Russian (official) 71.4%, Belarusian (official) 26%, other 0.3% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 2.3% (2019 est.)
major-language sample(s): Книга фактов о мире – незаменимый источник базовой информации. (Russian)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions: Orthodox 48.3%, Catholic 7.1%, other 3.5%, non-believers 41.1% (2011 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.1% (male 787,849/female 741,293)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 3,073,507/female 3,204,088)
65 years and over: 17.8% (2024 est.) (male 572,483/female 1,122,231)
Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 52 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 24.1 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 27.9 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio: 3.6 (2025 est.)
Median age: total: 42.5 years (2025 est.)
male: 39.5 years
female: 45 years
Population growth rate: -0.44% (2025 est.)
Birth rate: 8.16 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate: 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
Urbanization: urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population: 2.057 million MINSK (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio: 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.)
Mother's mean age at first birth: 26.8 years (2019 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio: 1 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 2.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 1.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.7 years (2024 est.)
male: 69.8 years
female: 80 years
Total fertility rate: 1.45 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate: 0.7 (2025 est.)
Drinking water source: improved: urban: urban: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: rural: rural: 98.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total: total: 99.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban: urban: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural: rural: 1.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 0.8% of population (2022 est.)
Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 6.6% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 12.3% of national budget (2022 est.)
Physician density: 4.72 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Hospital bed density: 9.7 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)
Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: urban: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: rural: rural: 98.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total: total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban: urban: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural: rural: 1.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 24.5% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita: 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.)
Tobacco use: total: 26.4% (2025 est.)
male: 44.5% (2025 est.)
female: 11.6% (2025 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49): 62.4% (2019 est.)
Child marriage: women married by age 15: 0.1% (2019)
women married by age 18: 4.7% (2019)
men married by age 18: 1.6% (2019)
Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% GDP): 5% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget): 13.2% national budget (2024 est.)
Literacy: total population: 99.9% (2019 est.)
male: 99.9% (2019 est.)
female: 99.9% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 14 years (2023 est.)
male: 14 years (2023 est.)
female: 15 years (2023 est.)

Environmental issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
International environmental agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Land use: agricultural land: 39.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 27.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 11.7% (2023 est.)
forest: 44% (2023 est.)
other: 16.5% (2023 est.)
Urbanization: urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: total emissions: 46.709 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 1.497 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 15.884 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 29.328 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions: 13.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Waste and recycling: municipal solid waste generated annually: 4.28 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 19% (2022 est.)
Total water withdrawal: municipal: 600 million cubic meters (2022)
industrial: 430 million cubic meters (2022)
agricultural: 385 million cubic meters (2022)
Total renewable water resources: 57.9 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local long form: Respublika Byelarus' (Belarusian)/ Respublika Belarus' (Russian)
local short form: Byelarus' (Belarusian)/ Belarus' (Russian)
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
etymology: the name is a compound of the Slavic words "bel" (white) and "Rus" (the Old East Slavic ethnic designation) to form the meaning White Rusian or White Ruthenian
Government type: presidential republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
Capital: name: Minsk
geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: the origin of the name is disputed; it may be derived from the Menka River
Administrative divisions: 6 regions (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel' (Gomel'), Horad Minsk* (Minsk City), Hrodna (Grodno), Mahilyow (Mogilev), Minsk, Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk)
Legal system: civil law system
Constitution: history: several previous; latest drafted between late 1991 and early 1994, signed 15 March 1994
amendment process: 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
International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship: 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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Alyaksandr TURCHYN (since 10 March 2025)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (no term limits); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly
most recent election date: first election held on 23 June and 10 July 1994; the 1994 constitution set the next election for 1999, but Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA extended his term to 2001 via a referendum; subsequent election held in 2001; a 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed LUKASHENKA to run and win a third term (19 March 2006), fourth term (19 December 2010), fifth term (11 October 2015), sixth term (9 August 2020), and seventh term (26 January 2025)
election results: 2025: Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA reelected president; percent of vote - Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (independent) 86.8%, Sergey Syrankov (Communist Party) 3.2%, 3.6% voting against all2020: 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 fraud2015: 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%.
expected date of next election: 2030
Legislative branch: legislature name: National Assembly (Natsionalnoye Sobranie)
legislative structure: bicameral
Legislative branch - lower chamber: chamber name: House of Representatives (Palata Predstaviteley)
number of seats: 110 (all directly elected)
electoral system: plurality/majority
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 2/25/2024
parties elected and seats per party: Belaya Rus party (51); Republican Party of Labour and Justice (8); Communist Party of Belarus (7); Non-partisans (40); Other (4)
percentage of women in chamber: 33.9%
expected date of next election: February 2029
Legislative branch - upper chamber: chamber name: Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliki)
number of seats: 65 (56 indirectly elected; 8 appointed)
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 4/4/2024
percentage of women in chamber: 30.5%
expected date of next election: March 2029
Judicial branch: 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
Political parties: Belaya Rus or BRRepublican Party of Labour and Justice or RPTSCommunist Party of Belarus or CBPLiberal Democratic Party of Belarus or LDPB
Diplomatic representation in the US: 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: usa@mfa.gov.byEmbassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United States of America (mfa.gov.by)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Michael KREIDLER (since July 2025)
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: ConsularMinsk@state.govhttps://by.usembassy.gov/
International organization participation: BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CEI, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Independence: 25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944)
Flag: description: red horizontal band (top), with a green horizontal band below that is half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the left side has traditional Belarusian designs in redmeaning: the red stands for past struggles to escape oppression, and the green for hope and the country's forests
National symbol(s): no official symbol; the mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser) is the traditional symbol
National color(s): green, red, white
National anthem(s): title: "My, Bielarusy" (We Belarusians)
lyrics/music: Mikhas KLIMKOVICH and Uladzimir KARYZNA/Nester SAKALOUSKI
history: music adopted 1955, lyrics adopted 2002; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Belarus kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem but adopted new lyrics; also known as "Dziarzauny himn Respubliki Bielarus" (State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus)
National heritage: 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)

Economic overview: 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
Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024: $265.22 billion (2024 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $254.995 billion (2023 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $244.89 billion (2022 est.)
Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2024: 4% (2024 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2023: 4.1% (2023 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2022: -4.7% (2022 est.)
Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2024: $29,000 (2024 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2023: $27,800 (2023 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2022: $26,500 (2022 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $75.962 billion (2024 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024: 5.8% (2024 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023: 5% (2023 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 15.2% (2022 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 6.9% (2024 est.)
industry: 30.7% (2024 est.)
services: 49.7% (2024 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 56.8% (2024 est.)
government consumption: 19% (2024 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 23.8% (2024 est.)
investment in inventories: 2% (2024 est.)
exports of goods and services: 65.1% (2024 est.)
imports of goods and services: -66.9% (2024 est.)
Agricultural products: milk, sugar beets, potatoes, wheat, triticale, barley, maize, rapeseed, rye, chicken (2023)
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2024 est.)
Labor force: 4.817 million (2024 est.)
Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2024: 3.4% (2024 est.)
Unemployment rate 2023: 3.5% (2023 est.)
Unemployment rate 2022: 3.6% (2022 est.)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): total: 10.1% (2024 est.)
male: 11.7% (2024 est.)
female: 8.4% (2024 est.)
Population below poverty line: 3.9% (2022 est.)
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income: Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2020: 24.4 (2020 est.)
Average household expenditures: on food: 29.5% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 7.6% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.5% (2020 est.)
highest 10%: 20.7% (2020 est.)
Remittances: Remittances 2024: 1.8% of GDP (2024 est.)
Remittances 2023: 1.7% of GDP (2023 est.)
Remittances 2022: 2% of GDP (2022 est.)
Budget: revenues: $22.876 billion (2023 est.)
expenditures: $21.912 billion (2023 est.)
Public debt: Public debt 2019: 33.2% of GDP (2019 est.)
Taxes and other revenues: 12.7% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Current account balance: Current account balance 2024: -$1.925 billion (2024 est.)
Current account balance 2023: -$1.104 billion (2023 est.)
Current account balance 2022: $2.628 billion (2022 est.)
Exports: Exports 2024: $49.386 billion (2024 est.)
Exports 2023: $47.714 billion (2023 est.)
Exports 2022: $47.124 billion (2022 est.)
Exports - partners: China 34%, Kazakhstan 10%, Uzbekistan 7%, Poland 6%, Brazil 5% (2023)
Exports - commodities: fertilizers, rapeseed oil, wood, poultry, beef (2023)
Imports: Imports 2024: $50.679 billion (2024 est.)
Imports 2023: $47.459 billion (2023 est.)
Imports 2022: $42.438 billion (2022 est.)
Imports - partners: China 33%, Poland 16%, Germany 11%, Lithuania 10%, Turkey 9% (2023)
Imports - commodities: cars, broadcasting equipment, fabric, plastic products, video displays (2023)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2024: $8.912 billion (2024 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023: $8.118 billion (2023 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022: $7.923 billion (2022 est.)
Debt - external: Debt - external 2023: $18.01 billion (2023 est.)
Exchange rates: Currency: Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates 2024: 3.246 (2024 est.)
Exchange rates 2023: 3.007 (2023 est.)
Exchange rates 2022: 2.626 (2022 est.)
Exchange rates 2021: 2.539 (2021 est.)
Exchange rates 2020: 2.44 (2020 est.)

Electricity access: electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Electricity: installed generating capacity: 12.653 million kW (2023 est.)
consumption: 39.883 billion kWh (2023 est.)
exports: 4.553 billion kWh (2023 est.)
imports: 4 billion kWh (2023 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 3.149 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Electricity generation sources: fossil fuels: 70% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
nuclear: 26.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
wind: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Nuclear energy: Number of operational nuclear reactors: 2 (2025)
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 2.22GW (2025 est.)
Percent of total electricity production: 28.6% (2023 est.)
Coal: consumption: 710,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
exports: 966,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
imports: 1.635 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Petroleum: total petroleum production: 30,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 125,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 198 million barrels (2021 est.)
Natural gas: production: 68.494 million cubic meters (2023 est.)
consumption: 15.094 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
imports: 15.433 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
proven reserves: 2.832 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Energy consumption per capita: Total energy consumption per capita 2023: 104.821 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 4.14 million (2024 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 46 (2024 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular: total subscriptions: 11.9 million (2024 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 131 (2024 est.)
Broadcast media: 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)
Internet country code: .by
Internet users: percent of population: 92% (2023 est.)
Broadband - fixed subscriptions: total: 3.2 million (2023 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 35 (2023 est.)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: EW
Airports: 46 (2025)
Heliports: 4 (2025)
Railways: 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)
Merchant marine: total: 4 (2023)
by type: other 4

Military and security forces: Belarus Armed Forces: Army, Air and Air Defense Force, Special Operations Force, Special Troops, Territorial Defense ForcesMinistry of Interior: State Border Troops, Militia, Internal Troops (2025)
Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2024: 2% of GDP (2024 est.)
Military Expenditures 2023: 1.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Military Expenditures 2022: 1.7% of GDP (2022 est.)
Military Expenditures 2021: 1.4% of GDP (2021 est.)
Military Expenditures 2020: 1.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
Military and security service personnel strengths: approximately 50-60,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions: 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 (2025)
Military service age and obligation: 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; 17-year-olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2025)
Military - note: the military of Belarus is responsible for territorial defense; Russia is the country’s closest security partner, and the military conducts joint training exercises with Russian forces; in 2022, Belarus allowed the Russian military to stage on its territory for their invasion of Ukraine; in 2023, Belarus agreed to permit Russia to deploy nuclear weapons on its soilBelarus has been a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 1994 and has committed an airborne brigade to CSTO's rapid reaction force; the military trains regularly with other CSTO members (2025)

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees: 44,621 (2024 est.)
stateless persons: 5,620 (2024 est.)
Trafficking in persons: tier rating: Tier 3 — Belarus does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Belarus remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/belarus/

Belarus