Country explorer: Belarus

Belarus has experienced substantial economic transformations, highlighted by a gradual increase in GDP per capita suggesting economic growth, alongside significant shifts in population distribution across different poverty thresholds, an initially high but decreasing unemployment rate, and volatile inflation rates indicating economic instability and challenges in maintaining price stability.

Belarus has experienced significant demographic shifts characterized by a steadily declining population, a reversal in net migration from negative to increasingly positive, a gradual increase in fertility rates recovering from historically low levels, and an improvement in life expectancy, aligning its demographic trends more with upper-middle-income countries and indicating a shift towards stabilization and modest growth in key demographic indicators.

Belarus has showcased significant improvements in basic needs indicators such as achieving near-universal access to clean cooking fuels, maintaining consistent access to electricity, and making continuous progress in safely managed drinking water and sanitation facilities, reflecting a steady enhancement in living conditions that aligns with trends observed in other upper-middle-income countries.

Belarus has demonstrated significant advancements in human development, marked by an increasing Human Development Index, declining child mortality rates, near-universal literacy, and improving quality and duration of education, characteristics that align it closely with its European peers, especially reflecting strides in health and education comparable to those of upper-middle-income countries.

Belarus has demonstrated consistent growth in forest area and a commitment to expanding renewable energy sources, paralleled by a nuanced trajectory in per capita CO₂ emissions including land-use change, positioning it towards an environmentally progressive stance within the Eastern European region and upper-middle-income countries.

Belarus has experienced a significant digital leap, with a notable increase in internet usage and mobile phone subscriptions aligning with an upward yet fluctuating trend in R&D investment and scientific publications, signaling a robust but uneven advancement in technology and innovation compared to its regional peers.

Belarus has experienced modest societal transformations, marked by slight decreases in gender inequality and age dependency ratios, a stable share of the population born abroad, and gradual improvements in self-reported life satisfaction, reflecting a unique blend of stability and progressive change distinct from more fluctuating trends observed in some neighboring countries and upper-middle-income peers.

Belarus has experienced significant declines in rule of law, political civil liberties, and press freedom, indicating a systematic erosion of governance and democratic norms, setting it apart from neighboring countries like Lithuania and Poland which have shown improvement or stability in these areas.