| variable | 1990-1999 | 2000-2007 | 2008-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| real gdp growth | 0.18 | 8.34 | 4.0 | 1.02 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| CPI % | 582.61 | 23.84 | 10.35 | 19.61 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.3 | 6.81 | 5.75 | 5.24 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| Debt/GDP % | - | 13.14 | 34.65 | 46.65 | 40.7 | 38.7 | 33.1 | 33.1 | 31.5 |
| Current account balance/GDP % | -3.51 | -3.78 | -13.3 | -3.82 | -1.8 | -3.1 | -2.6 | -2.7 | -3.4 |
Data derived from World Economic Outlook Database. To see main macroeconomic indicator in graphs click here
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.
Area: 207,600 sq km km2
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Natural resources: timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Groups: Belarusian 83.7%, Russian 8.3%, Polish 3.1%, Ukrainian 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.9% (2009 est.)
Languages: Russian (official) 71.4%, Belarusian (official) 26%, other 0.3% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 2.3% (2019 est.)
Religions: Orthodox 48.3%, Catholic 7.1%, other 3.5%, non-believers 41.1% (2011 est.)
Capital: Minsk
Government type: presidential republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
Chief of state: President Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (since 20 July 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Alyaksandr TURCHYN (since 10 March 2025)
Description: National Assembly (Natsionalnoye Sobranie) - bicameral
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
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances
GDP by sector: Agriculture: 6.9% (2024 est.), Industry: 30.7% (2024 est.), Services: 49.7% (2024 est.)
Export partners: China 34%, Kazakhstan 10%, Uzbekistan 7%, Poland 6%, Brazil 5% (2023)
Export commodities: fertilizers, rapeseed oil, wood, poultry, beef (2023)
Import partners: China 33%, Poland 16%, Germany 11%, Lithuania 10%, Turkey 9% (2023)
Import commodities: cars, broadcasting equipment, fabric, plastic products, video displays (2023)
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Military expenditure: 2024: 2% of GDP (2024 est.)
Information derived from worldfactbook.io (Lupon Media), open successor to the CIA World Factbook. Data sourced from World Bank, IMF, UN and other international organizations.