visamonk.net

Belarus travel guide

BelarusBelarus

About

Belarus is located in Eastern Europe part of Europe. It's total area is 203K km² and 43.3% of it is forest area. As of 2023 it has a total population of 9.2M. 80.7% lives in cities whereas 19.3% lives in rural areas.
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Covering an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) and with a population of 9.2 million, Belarus is the 13th-largest and the 20th-most populous country in Europe. The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into seven regions. Minsk is the capital and largest city.

Until the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including Kievan Rus', the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid the Civil War, ultimately ending in the rise of the Byelorussian SSR, which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. After the Polish-Soviet War, Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland. 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 World War II, 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.

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. Following the adoption of a new constitution in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko was elected Belarus's first president in the country's first and only free election after independence, serving as president ever since. Lukashenko heads a highly centralized authoritarian government. Belarus ranks low in international measurements of freedom of the press and civil liberties. It has continued a number of Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of large sections of the economy. Belarus is the only European country using capital punishment. In 2000, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty for greater cooperation, forming the Union State.

Belarus is a developing country, ranking 60th on the Human Development Index. The country has been a member of the United Nations since its founding and has joined the CIS, the CSTO, the EAEU, the OSCE, and the Non-Aligned Movement. It has shown no aspirations of joining the European Union but nevertheless maintains a bilateral relationship with the bloc and also participates in two EU projects, the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership. Belarus suspended its participation in the latter on 28 June 2021, after the EU imposed more sanctions against the country.

🏷️ Tags

We have tagged Belarus with these tags:

💬 Languages

Belarusian, Russian are the official languages.

💵 Currencies

The official currency is Belarusian ruble [1 USD = 3.27 BYN].

🏧 Cash / Credit card usage

As credit cards are not widely used in Belarus, we suggest you to carry cash during your travels [2017: %18.71520579]. Approximately there are a total of 🏧 5.2K ATM's in Belarus.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Tourism

In 2019, 11.8M tourists arrived to Belarus. In 2019, tourism has contributed to Belarus economy with a total of 1.3B $ income (%3.1).

📱 Bandwidth

Mobile internet & wifi is 🐌slow with 12.24 Mbps. Broadband is fast with 63.14 Mbps.

Mobile & Wifi (0.3 / 10)

Broadband (2.07 / 10)

☀️ Climate

Averag yearly temperature is ❄️ 6 °C and cold. Current 3 months (November, December and January) average is ❄️ -3 °C and cold. Current season (fall) is ❄️ 7 °C and cold.
Yearly average6 °C ❄️
3 month average-3 °C ❄️
Spring average6 °C ❄️
Summer average17 °C 🌤️
Fall average7 °C ❄️
Winter average-5 °C 🧊
About seasons: Remember that seasons in Southern Hemisphere are opposite of the Northern one. This means that in Argentina and Australia, winter begins in June. Currently season averages are rendered according Northern Hemisphere.

📈 Economics

In 2023, gross national income (GNI) was 71B $ and with %4.9 increase GNI per capita was 7.8K $. In 2023, consumer inflation was calculated as %5.
Note

The data contained in this page is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. We gather our data from open resources and may contain outdated information. Make sure to verify these data from official resources of the respective country.