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- Republic of Belarus
- Anthem: Vajacki marš
- Capital and largest city: Minsk
- Official languages: Belarusian, Russian
- Recognized minority languages: Polish, Ukrainian, Yiddish
- Ethnic groups:
- 83.7% Belarusians
- 8.3% Russians
- 3.1% Poles
- 1.7% Ukrainians
- 3.2% Other
- Demonym(s): Belarusian
- Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
- • President
- Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
- • Prime Minister
- Paval Sieviaryniec
- Legislature: National Council of Belarus (260; BCD 135, LDPB 96, BSDP 17, KPB 8, AP 1, Independent 3)
- Establishment history
- • Principality of Polotsk established
- c. 987
- • Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- c. 1236
- • Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
- 1 July 1569
- • Annexed by the Russian Empire
- 1795
- • Independence from the Russian Republic
- 25 March 1918
- • Soviet republic established
- 17 February 1919
- • Byelorussian SSR proclaimed
- 31 July 1920
- • Soviet annexation of West Belarus
- 15 November 1939
- • State sovereignty declared
- 27 July 1990
- • Independence from the Soviet Union
- 25 August 1991
- • Independence recognized
- 26 December 1991
- • Current constitution adopted
- 15 March 1994
- Area
- • Total
- 207,595 km2 (80,153 sq mi)
- • Water (%)
- 1.4% (2.830 km2 or 1.093 sq mi)
- Population
- • 2020 estimate
- 10,151,800
- • Density
- 45.8/km2 (118.6/sq mi)
- GDP (PPP) 2020 estimate
- • Total
- Increase $200.089 billion
- • Per capita
- Increase $21,223
- GDP (nominal) 2020 estimate
- • Total
- Increase $63.582 billion
- • Per capita
- Increase $6,744
- Gini (2018) Positive decrease 25.2
- low
- HDI (2018) Increase 0.817
- very high · 50th
- Currency Belarusian ruble (BYN)
- Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
- • Summer (DST)
- UTC+3 (EEST)
- Date format dd.mm.yyyy
- Driving side right
- Calling code +375
- ISO 3166 code BY
- Internet TLD .by
- Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. Over 40% of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested. Its major economic sectors are service industries and manufacturing. Until the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including the Principality of Polotsk (11th to 14th centuries), the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire.
- In the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution, different states arose competing for legitimacy amidst the Civil War, ultimately ending in the rise of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Byelorussian SSR) which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland after the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939, when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland, and were finalized after World War II. During WWII, military operations devastated Belarus, which lost about a quarter of its population and half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR. The parliament of the republic proclaimed the sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 25 August 1991.
- Over 70% of Belarus's population of 10.1 million resides in urban areas. More than 80% of the population is ethnic Belarusian, with sizable minorities of Russians, Poles and Ukrainians. Since a referendum in 1995, the country has had two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. The Constitution of Belarus does not declare any official religion, although the primary religion in the country is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The second-most widespread religion, Roman Catholicism, has a much smaller following; nevertheless, Belarus celebrates both Orthodox and Catholic versions of Christmas and Easter as national holidays. Belarus is a member of the United Nations since its founding, the Commonwealth of Independent States, CSTO, EEU, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Belarus maintains a bilateral relationship with the European Union, and likewise participates in two EU projects: the Eastern Partnership and the Baku Initiative.
- At the top level of administration, Belarus is divided into thirteen regions and the city of Minsk, which has a special status being the capital of Belarus. Minsk is also the capital of Minsk Region. At the second level, the regions are divided into raions ("districts").
- Regions:
- Minsk
- Babruysk Region Babruysk
- Baranavichy Region Baranavichy
- Brest Region Brest
- Gomel Region Gomel
- Grodno Region Grodno
- Maladzyechna Region Maladzyechna
- Mogilev Region Mogilev
- Minsk Region Minsk
- Pinsk Region Pinsk
- Polotsk Region Polotsk
- Polesia Region Mazyr
- Vitebsk Region Vitebsk
- Vileyka Region Vileyka
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