Belarus - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Belarus was 9,379,952 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 10,239,050 in 1993 and a minimum value of 8,198,000 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 8,198,000
1961 8,271,216
1962 8,351,928
1963 8,437,232
1964 8,524,224
1965 8,610,000
1966 8,696,496
1967 8,785,648
1968 8,874,552
1969 8,960,304
1970 9,040,000
1971 9,115,576
1972 9,188,968
1973 9,257,272
1974 9,317,584
1975 9,367,000
1976 9,411,000
1977 9,463,000
1978 9,525,000
1979 9,584,000
1980 9,643,000
1981 9,710,000
1982 9,776,000
1983 9,843,000
1984 9,910,000
1985 9,975,000
1986 10,043,000
1987 10,111,000
1988 10,140,000
1989 10,170,000
1990 10,189,350
1991 10,194,050
1992 10,216,470
1993 10,239,050
1994 10,226,960
1995 10,193,830
1996 10,159,570
1997 10,117,430
1998 10,071,960
1999 10,026,740
2000 9,979,610
2001 9,928,549
2002 9,865,548
2003 9,796,749
2004 9,730,146
2005 9,663,915
2006 9,604,924
2007 9,560,953
2008 9,527,985
2009 9,504,583
2010 9,483,836
2011 9,461,643
2012 9,446,836
2013 9,443,211
2014 9,448,515
2015 9,461,076
2016 9,469,379
2017 9,458,989
2018 9,438,785
2019 9,419,758
2020 9,379,952

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population