As of 1 May 2010, the population of the Republic of Belarus was 9,471,900 (preliminary results of the census included). Belarus ranks fifth in the CIS after Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. The average density of the population is 46 people per 1 square kilometer.
In 2009, 109,800 babies were born, 1,900 babies more as compared to a year earlier. The birthrate increased by 4.5 percent to 11.6 per 1,000 residents. 637 Belarusians are over 100 years old.
The Mothers' Index in Save the Children's report, State of the World's Mothers 2010, compares the well-being of mothers and children in 173 countries and concludes that Belarus is the best county in the CIS for a woman to be a mother, and 33rd among developed countries.
Life expectancy at birth has lately improved in Belarus. Life expectancy for men is 64.7 years, and that for women 76.5 years. The number of women is higher than that of men in Belarus (4.423 million men, or 46.6 percent of the total population, 5.066 million women, or 53.4 percent). Belarus is among the top thirty nations in terms of women's participation in decision making. Women account for one third of Belarusian Parliament.
According to the United Nations Human Development Report 2009, Belarus ranked 52nd among 182 countries and first in the CIS in terms of the development index along with the Gender-related factor.
A total of 78,800 marriages and 35,100 divorces were registered in 2009. Some 4,600 interethnic couples tied the knot last year. Russia ranks first in international marriages in Belarus, Italy 2nd, Israel 3rd, Germany 4th, Lithuania 5th.
According to the 2009 population census, representatives of more than 140 ethnicities lived in Belarus. Ethnic Belarusians make up 83.7 percent of the population.
In 2009, 4,621.200 million people were employed in the national economy. The rate of employment makes up 70 percent of the workforce, which is on a par with international standards (72.7 in Russia, approximately 65 percent in developed countries).
A total of 19,892 people came to settle in Belarus in 2009, and 7,643 left the country. The biggest sources of migration exchange are Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Immigrants from those states account for 86.2 percent of the total number of migrants from the CIS.
Belarusian Diaspora
The Belarusian nation has a rich and checkered history and is made up of not only citizens of the Republic of Belarus but also Belarusian communities almost in all continents of the planet. At the beginning of the twenty-first century there were 2.1-2.4 million Belarusians living outside Belarus; 1.5 million of them live in the former Soviet Union republics.
The biggest Belarusian diasporas are in the CIS and neighboring Baltic states (Latvia - 90,000 people, Lithuania - 42,000, Estonia - 20,000), and also Ukraine (276,000) and Poland (50,000 according to the 2001 census, and from 150,000 to 250,000 according to unofficial sources).
Around 1.2 million Belarusians live in other countries. Up to one million people live in the United States and Canada, around 130,000 in Israel, 20,000 in Australia, around 7,000 in Great Britain and up to 20,000 in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and others).
The Belarusian diaspora in Russia is the largest one. According to the 2002 census, there were 814,700 Belarusians in Russia.
Celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of Great Victory, 9 May 2010
During the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945, Belarus put up fierce resistance to the Nazi invaders. Belarus, hand in hand with the other republics of the Soviet Union, fought a long and fierce battle for its right to live in freedom. During the war Belarus suffered great losses: every third citizen was killed; all towns, large and medium-sized industrial companies were destroyed, over 9,000 villages were burned down, over 380,000 people were taken to Germany for slave labor.
On 9 May the Republic of Belarus celebrated the 65th anniversary of Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.
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