How many people live in Belarus right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
8,917,527
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 102 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.11%
- Median age
- 41.8 years
- Children per woman
- 1.23
- Life expectancy
- 75.0 years
- People per km²
- 44
According to UN estimates, about 8.9 million people live in Belarus right now. It ranks 102nd out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Sierra Leone and Laos, and it is home to one in every 933 people on the planet.
Every day, about 170 people are born there and about 330 die. More people leave than arrive: net migration reduces the population by about 3,600 people a year. Overall, the population shrinks by about 170 people a day (0.69% a year).
In 1950, about 7.1 million people lived there. Since then, the population has grown by 25%. It peaked in 1993, at about 10.2 million, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 7.5 million people (16% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 4.4 million.
Half of its people are younger than 42 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.23 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 75 years (worldwide, 74). There are 44 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Belarus in 2026?
- Belarus has about 8.9 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 8,937,018.
- How many people are born each day in Belarus?
- About 170 a day (61,300 a year). About 330 people die each day (119,000 a year).
- Is the population of Belarus growing?
- No: it shrinks by 0.69% a year, or about 61,400 people.
- What will the population of Belarus be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 7.5 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Austria 9,105,437
- Switzerland 9,019,219
- Sierra Leone 9,052,729
- Laos 8,005,212
- Turkmenistan 7,771,594
- Libya 7,567,500
More countries in Europe
- Russia 143,283,403
- Germany 83,580,367
- United Kingdom 70,046,000
- France 66,775,482
- Italy 58,850,874
- Spain 47,835,419
- Ukraine 39,443,560
- Poland 37,796,195
- Romania 18,765,997
- Netherlands 18,476,994
- Belgium 11,779,074
- Sweden 10,713,764
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.