Belarus

Republic of Belarus Рэспубліка Беларусь Республика Беларусь
Flag National emblem
Anthem: Дзяржаўны гімн Рэспублікі Беларусь  (Belarusian) Dziaržaŭny himn Respubliki Biełaruś  (transliteration) State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus
Location of  Belarus  (green) on the European continent  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Minsk 53°55′N 27°33′E / 53.917°N 27.550°E / 53.917; 27.550
Official languages	Belarusian Russian[1]
Recognised national languages	Russian
Spoken languages	Belarusian, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Yiddish
Ethnic groups (2009)	84.9% Belarusians, 7.5% Russians, 3.1% Poles, 1.7% Ukrainians, 2.7% others and unspecified[2]
Demonym(s)	Belarusian
Government	Presidential republic
• President	Alexander Lukashenko[3]
• Prime Minister	Roman Golovchenko
Legislature	National Assembly
• Upper house	Council of the Republic
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Independence  from the Soviet Union
• Declared	27 July 1990
• Established	25 August 1991
• Completed	25 December 1991
Area
• Total	207,595 km2 (80,153 sq mi) (85th)
• Water (%)	negligible (2.830 km2)1
Population
• 2024 census	9,155,978[4] (97)
• Density	45.8/km2 (118.6/sq mi) (142nd)
GDP (PPP)	2010 estimate
• Total	$131.201 billion[5]
• Per capita	$13,909[5]
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$54.713 billion[5]
• Per capita	$5,800[5]
Gini (2005)	27.9[6] low
HDI (2011)	0.756[7] high · 65th
Currency	Belarusian ruble (BYR)
Time zone	UTC+3 (FET[8])
Driving side	right
Calling code	375
ISO 3166 code	BY
Internet TLD	.by
"FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture". FAO. Retrieved 4 April 2008.

Belarus (officially called Republic of Belarus) is a country in Eastern Europe.^[9] About nine million people live there. Its capital is Minsk. It was part of the Soviet Union until 1991. The president of Belarus has been Alexander Lukashenko since 1994. It is bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested.^[10]

The State is a member of the UN, the CIS, Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Union State of Russia and Belarus (from 2 April 1997), as well as a member of other international organizations.

Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries. These included the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. After the Russian Revolution, Belarus became part of the Soviet Union. It was renamed the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939. Some lands occupied by Poland in 1921 were added into it after the 1939.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]} The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II. Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources.^[17] In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR.

The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus became independent on 25 August 1991.

Over 70% of Belarus's population of 9.49 million live in the urban areas.^[18] More than 80% of the population are ethnic Belarusians. Most of the rest are Russians, Poles and Ukrainians. The country has two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. The main religion in the country is Russian Orthodox Christianity. The second most popular, Roman Catholicism, has a much smaller following.

1. ↑ Constitution of the Republic of Belarus Archived 2013-12-07 at the Wayback Machine Section 1, Article 17
2. ↑ "Национальный состав населения Республики Беларусь" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
3. ↑ "President of the Republic of Belarus". Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
4. ↑ "Первые итоги переписи населения Республики Беларусь 2024 года" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-06-10. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} "Belarus". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
6. ↑ "Distribution of family income – Gini index". The World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
7. ↑ "Human Development Report 2011" (PDF). United Nations. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
8. ↑ "Eternal Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Belarus". timeanddate.com. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
9. ↑ UN Statistics Division (1 April 2010). "Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49)". United Nations Organization. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
10. ↑ "Belarus: Window of Opportunity (see Table 15, page 66)" (PDF). United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2008.
11. ↑ Abdelal, Rawi (2001). National purpose in the world economy: post-Soviet states in comparative perspective. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801438799. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
12. ↑ Taylor & Francis Group (2004). Europa World Year, Book1. Europa publications. ISBN 9781857432541. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
13. ↑ Клоков В. Я. Великий освободительный поход Красной Армии. (Освобождение Западной Украины и Западной Белоруссии).-Воронеж, 1940.
14. ↑ Минаев В. Западная Белоруссия и Западная Украина под гнетом панской Польши.—М., 1939.
15. ↑ Трайнин И.Национальное и социальное освобождение Западной Украины и Западной Белоруссии.—М., 1939.—80 с.
16. ↑ Гiсторыя Беларусi. Том пяты.—Мiнск, 2006.—с. 449–474
17. ↑ Axell, Albert (2002). Russia's Heroes, 1941–45. Carroll & Graf Publishers. p. 247. ISBN 0-7867-1011-X.
18. ↑ "About Belarus – Population". United Nations Office in Belarus. 2003. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.