Belarus overview
Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe, one of the 4 entries this site files under that subregion. Treaties and official documents call it Republic of Belarus. Government sits in Minsk.
It covers 207,600 km², which ranks it 86th of the 249 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Guyana and just ahead of Kyrgyzstan. Put next to a country most people can picture, it is a fraction smaller than Romania.
It is home to roughly 9.1 million people, placing it 99th of 249 by population — between Austria above it and Switzerland below. Among the 4 entries in Eastern Europe it ranks 3rd by area and 3rd by population.
How Belarus reaches the sea
Belarus has no coastline of its own, so every ship-borne import and export crosses somebody else's border first. The good news is that the sea is only one frontier away: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have coastline, which makes them the obvious routes for freight heading to a port.
That geography has practical consequences. Landlocked countries carry higher freight costs than coastal ones because goods change hands, transport mode and jurisdiction more often, and because a neighbour's road, rail or customs problem becomes Belarus's problem too. It is also why transit agreements with bordering states, and access to their ports, tend to matter more in Belarus's foreign policy than the distance on a map would suggest.
Coastal countries on the border:
Belarus and its neighbours, side by side
Belarus has 5 land neighbours, and together they hold 222,707,707 people — about 24 times Belarus's own population. Sharing a frontier with that much weight on the other side shapes trade, migration and language in ways the map alone does not show.
| Neighbour | Population | Area (km²) | vs Belarus by area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 143,533,851 | 17,098,242 | 82× larger |
| Ukraine | 37,860,221 | 603,500 | 2.9× larger |
| Poland | 36,559,233 | 312,679 | 1.5× larger |
| Lithuania | 2,888,278 | 65,300 | 3.2× smaller |
| Latvia | 1,866,124 | 64,559 | 3.2× smaller |
By area the largest neighbour is Russia and the smallest is Latvia; by population Russia is the heaviest presence on the border. Taken together the neighbours hold more people than Belarus does, which is the usual situation for a country with several borders and rarely a comfortable one.
Belarus at a glance
- Capital
- Minsk
- Population
- 9,132,629
- Area
- 207,600 km²
- Region
- Eastern Europe, Europe
- Languages
- Belarusian, Russian
- Currency
- Belarusian ruble (BYN)
- Calling code
- +375
- Internet TLD
- .by
- People per km²
- 44
Geography and neighbours of Belarus
Plotted on a globe it falls at 53.0° north, 28.0° east, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 5,900 km from the equator, in what geographers would call temperate latitudes.
Follow that same latitude east or west and you reach Ireland — places that share its distance from the equator but little else.
Its land neighbours number 5: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. The largest of them by area is Russia, which is also the most populous. Together those neighbours hold about 222.7 million people.
Belarus is landlocked. That is true of 45 of the 249 entries here, so all seaborne trade runs through a neighbour's ports. You can see the full picture on the landlocked countries page.
Where Belarus is on the map
The map below is centred on Belarus at roughly 53.00°, 28.00°. Pan and zoom to see how it sits against its surroundings — the shape of a country's borders explains a surprising amount about its history.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
The people of Belarus
Population divided by land area gives roughly 44 people per square kilometre, which makes it less crowded than the typical entry on this list. Half the entries in this dataset fall below roughly 91 per square kilometre.
Officially it is multilingual, listing Belarusian and Russian. Belarusian is listed for no other entry in this dataset, which makes it effectively unique to Belarus.
The demonym is Belarusian, so residents are Belarusians.
Against Europe as a whole it is the 18th most populous of 53 entries, and it accounts for 4.7% of everyone living in Eastern Europe.
Belarus within Eastern Europe
Zoom in from the world to Eastern Europe and Belarus sits 3rd of 4 by population and 3rd by area. Its immediate company in that ordering is Ukraine just above and Moldova just below, which is a more honest comparison set than a global league table.
Russia is the largest of the group by population, and every entry in Eastern Europe has its own page here if you want to work through the whole neighbourhood rather than one country at a time.
Useful reference details
It uses the Belarusian ruble (Br, BYN). No other entry in this dataset uses it, so the currency is specific to Belarus.
Minsk is the city to remember for this country.
The top-level domain is .by. The international dialling code is +375. In ISO terms it is by in two letters and BLR in three.
Belarus is one of the 192 UN member states in this dataset. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 249 rather than the familiar 195.
Money and language in Belarus
The Belarusian ruble (BYN) is used only in Belarus among the 249 entries on this site. Its own currency is one of the clearest markers of an economy that sets its own monetary policy rather than importing somebody else's.
Language reaches wider still. Russian is listed for 8 entries here, Belarus among them, so a visitor who speaks it can be understood across a large part of the map. Shared language tends to outlive the empires, trade routes and migrations that spread it, which is why the linguistic map and the political one rarely line up.
Also lists Russian among its languages:
Fun facts about Belarus
- It is 99th of 249 by population, with about 9.1 million residents.
- It is landlocked, one of 45 entries here with no coastline of its own.
- The Belarusian ruble is used here and nowhere else on this list.
- Population density works out at roughly 44 people per square kilometre.
- Websites based there use the .by domain.
- Belarusian is listed as an official language for no other entry in this dataset.
Belarus — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Belarus?
- The capital of Belarus is Minsk.
- What currency does Belarus use?
- Belarus uses the Belarusian ruble, written Br (currency code BYN). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
- What language is spoken in Belarus?
- Belarus lists 2 official languages: Belarusian and Russian. Belarusian does not appear as an official language anywhere else in this dataset.
- Is Belarus a country?
- Yes. Belarus is a sovereign state and one of the 192 UN members listed on this site.
- Where is Belarus located?
- Belarus is in Eastern Europe, part of Europe. Its reference coordinates are 53.0° north and 28.0° east, roughly 5,900 km from the equator in temperate latitudes.
- Is Belarus landlocked?
- Yes. Belarus has no sea coast, which makes it one of 45 landlocked entries in this dataset. Everything it imports or exports by sea has to cross a neighbour's territory first, and that transit dependency is a well-documented drag on trade costs.
- Which countries border Belarus?
- Belarus borders 5 countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. Russia is the largest of them by area.
- How big is Belarus?
- Belarus covers 207,600 km², ranking 86th of 249 by land area. That makes it a fraction smaller than Romania.
- What is the population of Belarus?
- Belarus has a population of about 9.1 million, which makes it the 99th most populous of the 249 countries and territories listed on this site. Austria sits just above it and Switzerland just below.
