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Belorussians

Belarusians
беларусы
belarusy
Byelorussians
Total population
c. 9.5–10 million
Regions with significant populations
 Belarus  7.95 million
 United States
(Belarusian ancestry)
600,000–768,000
 Russia 521,443 (2010)
 Ukraine 275,763 (2001)
 Latvia 68,174 (2011)
 Kazakhstan 66,476 (2010)
 Poland 47,000 (2011)
 Lithuania 41,100
 Moldova 20,000
 Canada 15,565
 Estonia 12,171 (2016)
 Italy 8,529
 France 7,500
 United Kingdom 7,000
 Argentina 7,000
 Brazil 7,000
 Sweden 2,833
 Belgium 2,000
 Australia 1,560 (2006)
 Greece 1,168
 Portugal 1,002 (2009)
Languages
Belarusian
Russian
Religion
Orthodox Christianity (majority), Roman Catholicism (minority)
Related ethnic groups
Other East Slavs

Belarusians (Belarusian: беларусы, bielarusy; Russian: белорусы), or Byelorussians, are an East Slavic ethnic group who are native to modern-day Belarus and the immediate region. There are over 9.5 million people who proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide, with overwhelming majority residing either in Belarus or the adjacent countries where they are an autochthonous minority.

Belarusians are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Belarusian minority populations live in countries neighboring Belarus: in Ukraine, in Poland (especially in the Podlaskie Voivodeship), in the Russian Federation and in Lithuania. At the beginning of the 20th century Belarusians constituted a minority in the regions around the city of Smolensk in Russia.

Significant numbers of Belarusians emigrated to the United States, Brazil and Canada in the early 20th century. During Soviet times (1917–1991), many Belarusians were deported or migrated to various regions of the USSR, including Siberia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Since the breakup of the USSR in 1991 several hundred thousand have emigrated to the Baltic states, the United States, Canada, Russia, and EU countries.

The two official languages in Belarus are Belarusian and Russian. Russian is the most spoken language, principally by 72% of the population, while Belarusian is only used by 11.9% in everyday life. According to a study, in varying degrees, the vast majority of residents speak the Belarusian language: 29.4% are fluent, being able read and write it, 52.5% can speak and read the language, 8.3% can understand it but can't speak or read it, while a further 7% are able to understand the parts of Belarusian language that are similar to Russian. Belarusian is a language of the East Slavic group.


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