Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.6 years less

In Latvia, the average life expectancy is 76 years (71 years for men, 81 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 45.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Latvia, 6.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Belarus, that number is 3.6% as of 2023.

be 78.7% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Latvia, 22.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Belarus, however, that number is 4.8% as of 2020.

pay a 43.5% lower top tax rate

Latvia has a top tax rate of 23.0% as of 2016. In Belarus, the top tax rate is 13.0% as of 2017.

make 26.7% less money

Latvia has a GDP per capita of $37,800 as of 2023, while in Belarus, the GDP per capita is $27,700 as of 2023.

Life

be 94.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Latvia, approximately 18.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Belarus, 1.0 women do as of 2020.

be 32.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Latvia, approximately 4.8 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.

Expenditures

spend 21.7% less on education

Latvia spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Belarus spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 14.7% less on healthcare

Latvia spends 7.5% 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: State Revenue Service, Latvia, The World Factbook, 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 Latvia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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