MINSK, 9 April (BelTA) – About 9.35 million people lived in Belarus at the beginning of the year or roughly 60,600 fewer than one year before that, BelTA learned from a population statistics report released by the National Statistics Committee of Belarus.
The report specifies the number of people as of 1 January 2021 and the average population number broken down by oblasts, districts, cities, and towns.
The report also offers population numbers of the two previous years, which were recounted taking into account the population census. The figures are broken down by territories.
As of the beginning of 2021 Belarus was home to 9,349,645 people while the figure was at 9,410,259 in early 2020 and at 9,429,257 in early 2019. The average annual population number totaled 9,419,758 in 2019 and 9,379,952 in 2020. The figure does not take into account direct calculations due to the inclusion of the town of Mezhdurechye (a rural populated locality) into the city limits of Novopolotsk.
The number of residents has been dwindling for the last two years virtually in all the regions. Only Minsk and the oblast are the exceptions.
There were 1,338,044 residents in Brest Oblast in early 2021, 1,347,240 residents in early 2020, and 1,350,834 in early 2019.
The figures in Vitebsk Oblast were 1,120,364, 1,133,625, and 1,142,936.
The figures in Gomel Oblast were 1,375,286, 1,386,824, and 1,393,996.
The figures in Grodno Oblast were 1,017,976, 1,025,680, and 1,030,051.
The figures in Mogilev Oblast were 1,014,843, 1,023,510, and 1,029,291.
As of early 2019 Minsk was home to 2,012,896 people. The number rose to 2,020,133 the next year and dropped to 2,009,786 as of 1 January 2021.
The number of people living in Minsk Oblast has been rising: from 1,469,253 in early 2019 to 1,473,247 in early 2020 and 1,473,346 as of 1 January 2021.
Urbanization and the concentration of population in cities and towns are a trend in Belarus and in most other countries.
The urban population in Belarus stood at 7,291,709 people in early 2019, 7,303,905 in early 2020, and 7,280,320 in early 2021.
The rural population also went down in this period: from 2,137,548 in early 2019 to 2,106,354 in early 2020 and 2,069,325 in early 2021. As of 1 January 2021 the share of the urban population stood at 77.9%, with the share of rural population at 22.1%.
There is no fresh breakdown per gender and per age groups. But the number of men totaled 4.358 million as of early 2019 and 4.350 million as of early 2020, with the number of women at 5.071 million and 5.060 million respectively. The number of able-bodied Belarusians went from 5.401 million to 5.408 million, with the number of Belarusians aged above the employable age down from 2.340 million to 2.316 million.
The National Statistics Committee stressed that the population numbers as of the first day of the year were calculated using the final data of the latest population census. Changes of the numbers of residents due to changes of borders of populated localities were taken into account as well as changes in the number of urban and rural Belarusians due to administrative and territorial changes.
The estimated numbers of Belarusians as of 1 January 2019 and as of 1 January 2020 were also adjusted bearing in mind the latest population census and may differ from previously published figures.
The statistics covers permanent residents. Those are people, who constantly live in this territory, as well as foreign citizens and stateless persons, for whom these territories represent a temporary home for a year and more.
