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WINDOW TO BELARUS
Here we publish the most important figures of the month, as well as sociological notes on the sentiments inside Belarus.
Figures of the month: July 2025
Ahead of Independence Day, Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 16 people convicted of various crimes, including extremism.
Belarus' international reserve assets as of 1 July 2025 amounted to $11 billion 537.3 million.
Leaders from 28 countries congratulated Minsk on Independence Day.
Annual inflation accelerated again in June, reaching 7.3%.
Over the past six months, 1,600 Belarusians have applied for international protection in Poland.
In Belarus, over the past five years, at least 500,000 people have been illegally repressed for political reasons, with over 100,000 citizens included in the security forces' database "BESporiadki".
In June 2025, stocks of finished industrial products in warehouses increased to 11.593 billion rubles. Over the year, the increase in stocks reached 2.83 billion rubles.
As of 26 July, there were 220,063 job vacancies on the Belarusian labour market.
The share of petroleum products and potash in Belarusian exports decreased from 20% to 16%.
Figures of the month: June 2025
Belarusian exports of goods fell by 4% to $12.39 billion in the first four months of the year, while imports rose by 3.7% to $14.65 billion.
Belarus' gross external debt for the first quarter of 2025 increased by $2.240 billion (+6.4%) and amounted to $37.406 billion as of 1 April 2025.
Annual inflation accelerated to 7.1% in May.
In 2024, Bellegprom's exports to the EU grew by 26%.
On 21 June, following a visit to Minsk by US Special Representative for Ukraine Kellogg, the Belarusian authorities released 14 political prisoners.
In May this year, China imported $32.08 million worth of potash fertilisers from Belarus, three times less than a year ago.
Since the beginning of 2025, neighbouring EU countries have stopped more than 20,000 attempts to violate the border from Belarus.
Figures of the month: May 2025
On 7 May, A. Lukashenko issued a separate decree pardoning 42 people convicted of extremist crimes.
In April, Belarus became the leading importer of Polish apples: 31% of apples exported from Poland outside the EU went to the Belarusian market, where 8,841 tonnes of apples were delivered.
Lithuania published details of its plans to strengthen its defence on the border with Belarus by 2030, with funding of more than €1.1 billion.
In the first quarter, foreign investment in Belarus grew by 7.1% to about $3 billion. At the same time, Belarus invested $1.3 billion abroad.
As of 16 May, there were 205,873 job vacancies across Belarus registered with the employment service.
Over the past five years, industrial production inventories have almost doubled, reaching 11.167 billion rubles in monetary terms.
During the MILEX-2025 international exhibition of arms and military equipment held in Minsk, the Belarusian defence industry signed contracts worth more than $390 million.
41% of Russians named Belarus as the most friendly country to the Russian Federation. This is 8 percentage points less than in 2022.
As of 1 January 2025, there were 1,764,309 minors living in Belarus. This is 26.2% less than at the beginning of 2000.
Latvia confiscated 1,936 tonnes of potassium chloride from Belarus that had been seized by customs authorities.
Figures of the month: April 2025
Since the beginning of 2025, Belarusian air defence forces have recorded 128 violations of the state border in the airspace and destroyed 23 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the spring, 2.4 million people allegedly took part in the Republican Subbotnik.
As of 1 April, the RB's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased by $662.3 million to $10.07 billion.
The number of labour migrants in 2024 more than doubled, reaching 60,000 foreigners.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan confirmed an agreement with Lukashenko to send 150,000 Pakistanis to Belarus.
As part of the spring conscription campaign that has begun in Belarus, 10,000 conscripts will be drafted.
The Belarusian Ministry of Defence plans to purchase more than 500 drones worth $3.3 million by the end of the year.
Latvia prevented 1,334 attempts by illegal migrants to break through the border with Belarus.
Belarus ranked 166th in the 2024 international press freedom index.
The labour shortage in Belarus has exceeded 200,000 people.
The nominal average salary in March increased by 173.7 Belarusian rubles compared to February and amounted to 2,601.8 Belarusian rubles before income tax.
In January-February, 23.8% of all enterprises in Belarus operated at a loss.
The official exchange rate of the US dollar in Belarus for January-April 2025 decreased by 12.2% from 3.4735 to 3.0512 Belarusian rubles.
As of early 2025, there were at least 742 people with Belarusian passports fighting in Ukraine as part of the Russian army.
Figures of the month: March 2025
The foreign trade deficit in goods for January amounted to $504.3 million.
The foreign trade deficit for goods in January-February amounted to $1.02 billion.
Russia granted Belarus a deferral on loan payments totalling $800 million.
A. Lukashenko stated that Russia intends to build a plant in Belarus to produce unmanned aerial systems with a capacity of up to 100,000 units per year.
1,100 people were invited to A. Lukashenko's seventh inauguration ceremony.
As of 1 January 2025, the country's population was 9,109,280, according to Belstat. Over the year, it decreased by 46,700 people. Compared to the beginning of 2020, the number of residents in Belarus decreased by approximately 300,000 people, and compared to 1995, it decreased by 1.1 million people.
According to the results of 2024, trade turnover between Russia and Belarus "grew by about five to seven per cent and reached a record level" of $50-51 billion.
Russia has invested about $4.5 billion in the Belarusian economy, and more than 2,000 Russian companies operate in the country (V. Putin).
At the beginning of 2025, Russia allocated 33.4 billion Russian rubles to Belarus for import substitution projects.
In February 2025, MAZ sold almost 35% fewer new trucks (290) and 10 times fewer buses (11) to Russia than a year earlier.
In 2024, 58,993 children were born in Belarus. This is 8.7% less than a year earlier and the lowest figure in the last 75 years.
About 400 people have been recognised by the Investigative Committee as suspects in a criminal case for participating in foreign protests on 26 January.
Figures of the month: February 2025
As part of the ongoing combat readiness check, about five thousand conscripts have been called up from the reserve.
Out of 241 appeals reviewed by the Commission for the Consideration of Appeals from Citizens of the Republic of Belarus over the past two years, only 30 applicants received a positive response, and 20 of them returned to Belarus.
According to official information, almost 60% of the population trusts the state media, and Belarusian national content accounts for more than 70% of the total.
Belarus scored 7 out of 100 in the political and civil liberties ranking compiled by the human rights organisation Freedom House.
According to FOM, 69% of Russian citizens surveyed have a favourable opinion of the Belarusian president (two years ago, this figure was 59%, and five years ago, 38%).
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia have proposed creating a unified defence line on the border with Belarus and Russia at a cost of €8-10 billion.
In January 2025, only 4 MAZ buses were sold on the Russian market, 21 times less than a year earlier (84).
Belarus accounts for 9% of Russia's foreign trade turnover.
Figures of the month: January 2025
30 applicants out of 241 received a positive response from the Commission for Consideration of Appeals of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus on Offences committed by them during the two years of its work, only 20 of them returned to Belarus. The Commission aims to bring back citizens who left the country after the 2020 protests.
60% of the population trusts the state mass media, and the Belarusian national content in the aggregate makes up more than 70% – according to official information.
7 points out of 100 scored Belarus in the rating of political and civil liberties compiled by the human rights organisation Freedom House.
4 MAZ buses were sold on the Russian market in January 2025 – 21 times less than a year earlier (84).
9% is the share of Belarus in the Russian foreign trade turnover.
Figures for 2024
$60 billion – the potential trade turnover between Belarus and Russia by the end of 2024.
$7 billion – the projected annual trade turnover between Belarus and Moscow, the capital of Russia.
$9 billion – the estimated food exports in 2024.
$1.7 billion – the net foreign currency sales by individuals in Belarus in 2024 (six times higher than in 2023).
$5.37 billion – the foreign trade deficit in goods in 2024 (a 65.2% increase compared to the previous year).
41 provocations were committed on the southern border by Ukraine, according to the State Border Committee of Belarus in 2024.
€8 billion per year – the volume of mutual trade turnover between Belarus and the European Union.
50 pardon applications were submitted to the Pardon Commission in 2024.
246.6 billion BYN – Belarus’s GDP at the end of 2024 (4% growth).
1 million cubic metres of Belarusian sawn timber were exported in 2024 – a record high in the history of sovereign Belarus.
227 people convicted under extremist articles were pardoned by President A. Lukashenko in 2024.
395 UAV intrusions into Belarus from Ukraine and Russia were recorded from July to December 2024.
36,291 attempts by migrants to illegally cross the border from Belarus into EU neighbouring countries were recorded – 13.8% fewer than in 2023 (42,078 attempts).
29,972 attempts to illegally cross the Poland-Belarus border were recorded in 2024 (26,000 in 2023, 15,000 in 2022).
82.6% of illegal migration attempts into the EU from Belarus in 2024 were recorded at the Polish-Belarusian border (29,972 cases, +17.2% compared to 2023).
99,000 tonnes of pork were purchased by Belarus from Russia in 2024 (45% of Russia’s total pork exports last year).
2,600 Belarusians received international protection in Poland in 2024.
598 Belarusian citizens were declared a national security threat by Lithuania in 2024 (1,428 in 2023).
Scandal of the Year
The incident is a consequence of Armenia’s decision in summer 2024 to suspend official contacts with Belarus as long as Lukashenko remains in power. This decision was triggered by numerous controversial statements made by the Belarusian president regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in mid-May 2024, as well as remarks about the situation in Armenia.
Figures of the month: December 2024
Over 13,000 people will take part in the Zapad-2025 joint Russian-Belarusian military exercise scheduled to be held in Belarus in September 2025, according to the official representative of the Ministry of Defence of Belarus.
Belarus ranked 167th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index.
35.99% of voters cast their ballots during early voting in the presidential election, according to official data.
86.82% – this is the result officially reported by Minsk for A. Lukashenko in the presidential election.
4 hours and 25 minutes – the duration of A. Lukashenko’s press conference on election day, 26 January 2025.
30 new titles have been added to the list of banned books in Belarus.
3 to 4 "Oreshnik" missile systems per year – this is the production capacity stated by A. Lukashenko on 26 January 2025.
55 days – the duration of the "planned" maintenance of the first unit of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.
24 countries congratulated A. Lukashenko on his election victory in the first week after the vote.
31 individuals convicted under extremist articles were pardoned in Belarus in January 2025.
42.4% of the consolidated budget of Belarus for 2025 will be allocated to social spending.
15.7% decrease in total defence spending in regional budgets of Belarus is expected in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Figures of the month: November 2024
1 500 000 signatures in favour of Lukashenko's nomination as a presidential candidate were allegedly collected by his initiative group in three weeks.
62 people convicted of extremist offences were pardoned in November.
280 000 Belarusians received residence permits in the EU in 2023.
148 957 Belarusians were granted EU residence permits for humanitarian reasons in 2023.
Belarus' economic growth rate fell by 24% year-on-year in the three months of 2024 (July to October).
38 Russian kamikaze drones of the ‘Shahed’ type violated the airspace of Belarus on 24-25 November, setting an absolute daily record in the history of monitoring.