Demographics of Belarus

Population: 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 885,265; female 848,516)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 3,456,769; female 3,652,766)
65 years and over: 14.3% (male 490,529; female 988,306) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 36.7 years
male: 34.1 years
female: 39.3 years (2002)

Population growth rate: -0.12% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years
female: 74.6 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups: Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish (~4.1%), Ukrainian (~2.9%), and other 7.4%

Religions: Eastern Orthodox 65-70%, Roman Catholic 15%, other (including Uniate, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (2003 est.). Caution: Even these coarse estimates may be misleading, since a significant part of population are atheists, as a result of the Soviet era, although even they attribute themselves (culturally, historically) to specific denominations. Historically, the Belarusians have practiced a variety of religions. For example, by the end of the 18th century 70% of Belarusians were Greek Catholics, 15% - Catholics, 7% - Judaists, and only 6% - Russian Orthodox.

Languages: Belarusian, Russian, other

Literacy:
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)