Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Belarus instead of South Dakota, you would:

Health

be 42.0% less likely to be obese

In South Dakota, 35.6% of adults are obese as of 2022. In Belarus, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 68.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In South Dakota, 11.2% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Belarus, however, that number is 3.5% as of 2024.

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be 40.8% more likely to be unemployed

In South Dakota, 2.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Belarus, that number is 3.4% as of 2025.

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make 83.3% less money

South Dakota has a GDP per capita of $61,724 as of 2024, while in Belarus, the GDP per capita is $10,279 as of 2025.

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Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: South Dakota vs. Belarus

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Belarus is 56.8% cheaper than South Dakota
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Size Comparison · See true size
South Dakota is around the same size as Belarus.
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Belarus: At a glance

Belarus is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 202,900 sq km. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first directly elected president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.
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How big is Belarus compared to South Dakota? See an in-depth size comparison.

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