If you lived in Belarus instead of United States, you would:

Health

be 32.3% less likely to be obese

In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Belarus, that number is 24.5% of people as of 2016.

live 6.3 years less

In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022. In Belarus, that number is 74 years (69 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 68.2% less likely to live below the poverty line

In United States, 15.1% live below the poverty line as of 2010. In Belarus, however, that number is 4.8% as of 2020.

pay a 67.2% lower top tax rate

United States has a top tax rate of 39.6% as of 2016. In Belarus, the top tax rate is 13.0% as of 2017.

make 70.4% less money

United States has a GDP per capita of $64,600 as of 2022, while in Belarus, the GDP per capita is $19,100 as of 2022.

Life

be 95.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In United States, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Belarus, 1.0 women do as of 2020.

be 36.8% less likely to die during infancy

In United States, approximately 5.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Belarus, on the other hand, 3.3 children do as of 2022.

have 32.0% fewer children

In United States, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Belarus, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 23.0% less on education

United States spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Belarus spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 66.0% less on healthcare

United States spends 18.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Belarus, that number is 6.4% of GDP as of 2020.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, Ministry for Taxes and Levies of the Republic of Belarus.

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 United States? See an in-depth size comparison.

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