Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Russia instead of Belarus, you would:

Health

be 2.4 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Belarus, 0.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Russia, that number is 1.2% of people as of 2017.

live 1.8 years less

In Belarus, the average life expectancy is 74 years (69 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2022. In Russia, that number is 72 years (67 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 43.7% more money

Belarus has a GDP per capita of $27,700 as of 2023, while in Russia, the GDP per capita is $39,800 as of 2023.

be 2.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belarus, 4.8% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Russia, however, that number is 11.0% as of 2021.

Life

be 14.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Belarus, approximately 1.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Russia, 14.0 women do as of 2020.

be 96.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Belarus, approximately 3.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Russia, on the other hand, 6.4 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 21.3% less on education

Belarus spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Russia spends 3.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 18.7% more on healthcare

Belarus spends 6.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Russia, that number is 7.6% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Russia: At a glance

Russia is a sovereign country in Central Asia, with a total land area of approximately 16,377,742 sq km. Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state in which the leadership seeks to legitimize its rule through managed national elections, populist appeals by President PUTIN, and continued economic growth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
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How big is Russia compared to Belarus? See an in-depth size comparison.

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