Editing Belarus (section)

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Belarus|Belarusians}}
According to the 2019 census the population was 9.41 million<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Национальный состав населения Республики Беларусь|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_18090/|access-date=30 November 2020|website=www.belstat.gov.by|archive-date=17 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017054127/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_18090/}}</ref> with ethnic [[Belarusians]] constituting 84.9% of Belarus's total population.<ref name=":0" /> Minority groups include: [[Russians]] (7.5%), [[Polish people|Poles]] (3.1%), and [[Ukrainians]] (1.7%).<ref name=":0" />
Belarus has a population density of about 50 people per square kilometre (127 per sq&nbsp;mi); 70% of its total population is concentrated in urban areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://un.by/en/aboutbelarus/population|title=About Belarus&nbsp;– Population|access-date=7 October 2007|year=2003|publisher=United Nations Office in Belarus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017223223/http://un.by/en/aboutbelarus/population|archive-date=17 October 2007}}</ref> [[Minsk]], the nation's capital and largest city, was home to 1,937,900 residents {{as of|2015|alt=in 2015}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/otrasli-statistiki/naselenie/demografiya_2/operativnaya-informatsiya_1/o-demograficheskoi-situatsii/o-demograficheskoi-situatsii-v-yanvare-marte-2015-g/|script-title=ru:О демографической ситуации в январе-марте 2015 г.|trans-title=About demographic situation in January–March 2015|language=ru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504020547/http://belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/otrasli-statistiki/naselenie/demografiya_2/operativnaya-informatsiya_1/o-demograficheskoi-situatsii/o-demograficheskoi-situatsii-v-yanvare-marte-2015-g/|archive-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> [[Gomel]], with a population of 481,000, is the second-largest city and serves as the capital of the [[Gomel Region]]. Other large cities are [[Mogilev]] (365,100), [[Vitebsk]] (342,400), [[Grodno]] (314,800) and [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]] (298,300).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-43&srt=npan&col=aohdq&pt=c&va=&srt=pnan|title=Largest Cities of Belarus (2007)|publisher=World-gazetteer.com|access-date=29 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001000814/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-43&srt=npan&col=aohdq&pt=c&va=&srt=pnan|archive-date=1 October 2007}}</ref>

Like many other Eastern European countries, Belarus has a negative population growth rate and a negative natural growth rate. In 2007, Belarus's population declined by 0.41% and its [[Total fertility rate|fertility rate]] was 1.22,<ref name="demographics"/> well [[Sub-replacement fertility|below the replacement rate]]. However, its [[net migration rate]] is +0.38 per 1,000, indicating that Belarus experiences slightly more immigration than emigration, unlike most neighbouring countries which experience significant negative net migration.{{As of|2015}}, 69.9% of Belarus's population is aged 14 to 64; 15.5% is under 14, and 14.6% is 65 or older. Its population is also aging; the median age of 30–34 is estimated to rise to between 60 and 64 in 2050.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php|title=International Programs: International Data Base|access-date=9 February 2017|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208114205/http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php|archive-date=8 February 2017}}</ref> There are about 0.87 males per female in Belarus.<ref name="demographics">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Belarus|section=People and Society|access-date=7 November 2007|year=2007}}</ref> The average life expectancy is 72.15 (66.53 years for men and 78.1 years for women).<ref name="demographics"/> Over 99% of Belarusians aged 15 and older are [[literate]].<ref name="demographics"/>
{{Largest cities
| country      = Belarus
| stat_ref     = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://chislennost.com/en/by/list_of_cities_in_belarus_by_population.html |title=List of cities in Belarus by population |date=2025 |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=chislennost.com}}</ref>
| list_by_pop  =
| div_name     = Region
| div_link     =
|city_1 = Minsk
|div_1 = Minsk Region
|pop_1 = 1,949,070
|img_1 = Miensk - Plac Niezaležnaści.jpg

|city_2 = Gomel
|div_2 = Gomel Region
|pop_2 = 526,901
|img_2 = Gomel. Mountains of phosphogypsum.jpg

|city_3 = Mogilev
|div_3 = Mogilev Region
|pop_3 = 374,713
|img_3 = Lieninski District, Mogilev, Belarus - panoramio (488).jpg

|city_4 = Vitebsk
|div_4 = Vitebsk Region
|pop_4 = 373,859
|img_4 = Viciebsk, march 2010 - panoramio.jpg


|city_5 = Grodno
|div_5 = Grodno Region
|pop_5 = 361,445

|city_6 = Brest, Belarus{{!}}Brest
|div_6 = Brest Region
|pop_6 = 337,445

|city_7 = Babruysk
|div_7 = Mogilev Region
|pop_7 = 217,149

|city_8 = Baranavichy
|div_8 = Brest Region
|pop_8 = 170,708

|city_9 = Barysaw
|div_9 = Minsk Region
|pop_9 = 145,744

|city_10 = Pinsk
|div_10 = Brest Region
|pop_10 = 135,679
}}

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Belarus}}
[[File:Полацк. Сафійскі сабор.jpg|thumb|[[Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk]] is one of the oldest churches in Belarus. Its current style is an ideal example of [[Baroque in Poland|baroque architecture]] in the former [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]].]]
According to the census of November 2011, 58.9% of all Belarusians adhered to some kind of religion; out of those, [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] made up about 82%: Eastern Orthodox in Belarus are mainly part of the [[Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church]], though a small [[Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church]] also exists.<ref name="mfa">{{cite web|url=https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/IssueLibrary/MINISTRY%20OF%20FOREIGN%20AFFARIS_Religion%20and%20denominations%20in%20Belarus.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/IssueLibrary/MINISTRY%20OF%20FOREIGN%20AFFARIS_Religion%20and%20denominations%20in%20Belarus.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Religion and denominations in the Republic of Belarus |date=November 2011 |access-date=29 June 2021|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus}}</ref> [[Roman Catholicism in Belarus|Roman Catholicism]] is practiced mostly in the western regions, and there are also different denominations of Protestantism.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00B6wxgftH8C&q=belarus+catholics&pg=PA39|title=Understanding Belarus and how Western Foreign Policy Misses the Mark|isbn=978-0-7425-5558-7|last1=Ioffe|first1=Grigoriĭ Viktorovich|last2=Ioffe|first2=Grigorij V.|year=2008|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}{{page needed|date=December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationmaster.com/country/bo-belarus/rel-religion|title=Belarusian Religion statistics, definitions and sources|website=Nation Master|access-date=29 April 2013}}{{unreliable source?|date=December 2020}}</ref> Minorities also practice [[Belarusian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholicism]], [[Judaism]], [[Islam]] and [[Modern paganism|neo-paganism]]. Overall, 48.3% of the population is Orthodox Christian, 41.1% is not religious, 7.1% is Roman Catholic and 3.3% follows other religions.<ref name=mfa/>

Belarus's Catholic minority is concentrated in the western part of the country, especially around [[Grodno]], consisting of a mixture of Belarusians and the country's [[Polish people|Polish]] and [[Lithuanian people|Lithuanian]] minorities.<ref name="Belarus – Religion">{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/belarus/20.htm|title=Belarus – Religion|publisher=Country Studios}}{{unreliable source?|date=December 2020}}</ref> President Lukashenko has stated that Orthodox and Catholic believers are the "two main confessions in our country".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.belta.by/en/news/president?id=363517|title=Belarus, Roman Catholic Church may ink cooperation agreement|website=Belarusian Telegraph Agency|date=25 April 2009|access-date=4 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326123631/http://news.belta.by/en/news/president?id=363517|agency=BelITA|archive-date=26 March 2012}}</ref>

Belarus was once a major center of European Jews, with 10% of the population being [[history of the Jews in Belarus|Jewish]]. But since the mid-20th century, the number of Jews has been reduced by [[the Holocaust]], deportation, and emigration, so that today it is a very small minority of less than one percent.<ref>Minsk Jewish Campus [http://www.meod.by/en/belarus-info/jewish-belarus.html Jewish Belarus] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130824171216/http://www.meod.by/en/belarus-info/jewish-belarus.html|date=24 August 2013}}; retrieved 9 July 2007.</ref> The [[Lipka Tatars]], numbering over 15,000, are predominantly [[Islam in Belarus|Muslims]]. According to Article 16 of the [[Constitution of Belarus|Constitution]], Belarus has no official religion. While the [[freedom of religion|freedom of worship]] is granted in the same article, religious organizations deemed harmful to the government or social order can be prohibited.<ref name="s1"/>

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Belarus}}
[[File:Zweisprachiges Schild Weißrussisch Russisch.JPG|thumb|Bilingual Belarusian–Russian sign in Belarusian town [[Rakaw]] in 2014]]
Belarus's two official languages are Russian and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/belarusian.shtml|title=Languages across Europe.|website=BBC |access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> According to data published by the [[National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus]], the [[2009 Belarusian census|2009 census]] recorded that 53% of the population described Belarusian as their "mother tongue" compared to 41% who described Russian in that way. In addition, 70% described Russian and 23% described Belarusian as the "language normally spoken at home".<ref name="2009-census-languages">{{cite web|url=http://belstat.gov.by/en/perepis-naseleniya/perepis-naseleniya-2009-goda/main-demographic-and-social-characteristics-of-population-of-the-republic-of-belarus/population-classified-by-knowledge-of-the-belarusian-and-russian-languages-by-region-and-minsk-city|title=Population classified by knowledge of the Belarusian and Russian languages by region and Minsk City|website=Belstat.gov.by|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803170716/http://www.belstat.gov.by/en/perepis-naseleniya/perepis-naseleniya-2009-goda/main-demographic-and-social-characteristics-of-population-of-the-republic-of-belarus/population-classified-by-knowledge-of-the-belarusian-and-russian-languages-by-region-and-minsk-city/}}</ref> Minorities also speak [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Eastern Yiddish]].<ref>Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, TX: SIL International. Online version: [http://www.ethnologue.com/ Ethnologue.com].</ref> Following the election of [[Alexander Lukashenko]], most schools in major cities began to teach in Russian rather than Belarusian.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bekus |first1=Nelly |title=Struggle over identity: the official and the alternative "Belarusianness" |date=2010 |publisher=CEU press |location=Budapest |isbn=978-963-9776-68-5 |pages=151–155 |url=https://books.openedition.org/ceup/616 |access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref> The annual circulation of Belarusian-language literature also significantly decreased from 1990 to 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Belarusian language in the period of socio-political crisis: signs of linguistic discrimination |url=https://penbelarus.org/en/2022/09/26/belaruskaya-mova-u-peryyad-gramadska-palitychnaga-kryzisu-prayavy-mounaj-dyskryminaczyi.html |website=Penbelarus.org |date=26 September 2022 |access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref>