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Belarus' population shrank by 5.4 percent in 10 years, official says

Belarus' population shrank by 541,000, or 5.4 percent, between 1999 and 2009, Alena Kukharevich, deputy chairwoman of the National Statistics Committee, told reporters in Minsk on Wednesday, as quoted by BelaPAN.

Referring to the findings of last year's national census, the official said that there were about 9,504,000 people living in Belarus in October 2009.

The Belarusian population shrank by 107,000, or one percent, between 1989 and 1999.

Belarus had an average population density of 46 people per square kilometer compared with 76 people in Ukraine, 52 in Lithuania, 36 in Latvia and 122 in Poland.

Btween 1999 and 2009, the population decreased by 146,000, or 10.6 percent, in the Vitsyebsk region, by 136,000 (8.7 percent) in the Minsk region and by 114,000 (9.4 percent) in the Mahilyow region. The population of Minsk rose by 156,000, or 9.3 percent, to 1,837,000 in the period.

Deaths exceeded births by 476,000 between 1999 and 2009.

Ms. Kukharevich said that the government was taking efforts to improve the country's demographic situation. However, although the birthrate has been rising, births are still outnumbered by deaths at present, the official said.