Belarus Population Declines By 53,200 Over The Year

Belarus’s population stood at 9,056,080 as of January 1, 2026, according to Belstat. Compared with January 1, 2025, the population decreased by 53,200 people.

The pace of population decline continued to accelerate. In 2024, the population fell by 46,698 people, and in 2023 by 44,639. Since January 2020, the total decrease has reached 354,180 people.

Urban population as of January 1 amounted to 7,157,309, down by 25,381 people. The rural population decreased by 27,819 to 1,898,771.

The population of Minsk stood at 1,995,091, down by 1,639 over the year. At the same time, Minsk District had 286,544 residents, an increase of 6,555 year-on-year.

Population by region as of January 1:

• Brest Region — 1,290,628 (-9,284),
• Vitsyebsk Region — 1,060,687 (-11,376),
• Homiel Region — 1,316,666 (-11,307),
• Hrodna Region — 976,218 (-8,662),
• Minsk Region — 1,454,737 (-1,884),
• Mahilyou Region — 962,053 (-9,312).

Population of regional centers:

• Brest — 347,138 (+1,077),
• Vitsyebsk — 357,899 (-1,028),
• Homiel — 499,853 (-1,340),
• Hrodna — 364,902 (+1,184),
• Mahilyou — 352,891 (-5).

The average annual population of Belarus in 2025 was 9,082,680, which is 49,949 fewer than in 2024.