The Belorussian population continues to fall due to increasing death rates and decreasing birth rates – the birth rate has declined by 25% since 1990. Belarus also continues to suffer from the fallout that remains from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in Northern Ukraine. It affected, and continues to affect nearly a quarter of the country’s land mass. Around 13% of the country’s children live in affected areas and these children are susceptible to thyroid cancer.

The Jewish population of Belarus numbers 53,500 making up 0.5% of the total population. Jews have been living in Belarus since the 13th century. They have suffered pogroms and hate attacks, but the communities produced many noted artists, poets and rabbis. Around 90% of the Jewish population perished in the Nazi holocaust.