About Belarus

The map shows Belarus, a landlocked Eastern European country that borders Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine.

With an area of 208,000 km² Belarus is the largest landlocked country situated entirely in Europe. It is somewhat smaller than the island of Great Britain (229,848 km²), or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Kansas.

Depicted on the map is Belarus with surrounding countries, international borders, major cities, main roads, railroads, and major airports (Minsk International Airport (IATA code: MSQ) is the primary international airport in Belarus).

More about Belarus


Belarus is an Eastern European landlocked state. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic became independent.


Population
Belarus has a population of 9.4 million people (in 2020). The capital and largest city is Minsk.
Spoken languages are Belarusian (official) 24%, and Russian (official) 70%.


Geography
Belarus lies in the Eastern European Plain and is crossed in the northwest by terminal moraines, chains of low, rolling hills known as the Belarusian Ridge.

Rivers
Many wide, natural rivers characterize the landscape of the country. The biggest rivers in Belarus are Dnepr, Bjaresina, Pripyat, and Memel.

In the south of Belarus are the Pinsk Marshes, a vast natural region of wetlands along the forested basin of the Pripyat River and its tributaries. About 40% of the country is forested.

Highest Point
The highest elevation is the Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (345 m) in the Belarusian Ridge.


Natural resources of Belarus
The natural resources of Belarus are limited and include arable land, timber, some oil and gas, peat deposits, limestone and potash.

Natural hazards
Floods are considered the greatest natural hazard in Belarus. ^[WBG]

Environmental issues
Environmental problems in Belarus include air pollution and soil contamination from the use of pesticides. The southern part of the country was hit hard by the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The explosion had serious environmental consequences in Belarus, where most of the fallout occurred - with late effects. Some people still live in the parts of Belarus that were contaminated by the disaster. Most of those who did not want to leave the area have since died of cancer. ^[DW]