Another Failure Of Lukashenko

• 11.05.2026, 7:43

The year 2018 was a landmark year in the history of modern Belarus.

Twice as many people die in Belarus as are born. Last year, according to the National Statistics Committee, 54.3 thousand new Belarusians were born, while 116.5 thousand died, writes the website "Belarusians and the market".

Natural population decline has been rapidly accelerating in recent years: now 62.3 thousand deaths per year are not compensated by new births, while in the most prosperous 2015 the figure was only 998 deaths.

2018 became a landmark year in the history of modern Belarus: if until now there was only one place in the country, where the population naturally increased - the city of Minsk, then since this year, even in the capital, deaths have numerically exceeded births.

Today, 9.3 thousand more people die in the capital than are born.

Where is the worst?

There are 6.8 people per thousand of the population of Belarus per year. The most critical situation is in Vitebsk voblast - here the loss reaches 10 people. The most demographically prosperous is Brest voblast - minus 5.9 people.

But the difference is most noticeable in the context of cities and villages: in urban areas for every thousand inhabitants the natural decline is 5 people, while in rural areas - 13.6.

Minsk, by the way, is better off than small towns - here the loss is only 4.7.

How many of us are left?

The total population of the country depends not only on deaths and births, but also on migration. Belstat, taking into account registered migration, shows a figure of 9 million 56 thousand people in Belarus at the beginning of 2026. This means minus 400 thousand for ten years. However, taking into account unregistered migrants, the number of residents in Belarus is likely to be even less in reality.