Context: In September 2026, the Institute of Sociology at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus presented the results of a survey of over 2,000 people from across the country. Over 82% of respondents rated their financial situation as good. At the same time, 41% reported spending all their earnings without saving anything. Nearly one in four does not have enough money for medical treatment and medication.
On September 17, 2026, Uladzimir Kazakou made the following statement on the First National Channel of Belarusian Radio:
“Belarus currently ranks 65th in the world on the Human Development Index. Fewer than 3.5% of people in our country have low incomes. For comparison, according to open sources, the figures for our neighbors are 25.6% in Latvia, 22.2% in Lithuania, and 16% in Poland.”
Belarus does indeed rank 65th on the Human Development Index. According to data from Belstat, the proportion of low-income persons is about 3.5%. This group includes people whose per-capita family income is below one subsistence minimum.
Kazakou’s figures for neighboring countries are similar to Eurostat’s data on the risk of poverty or social exclusion. However, more recent figures differ slightly. But this is a different indicator. It considers people whose income is below 60% of the national median, those facing serious material and social difficulties, and people living in households with very low work intensity. Eurostat’s methodology does not align with the one used to calculate the proportion of low-income individuals in Belarus.
If we look at more comparable indicators, the figures for neighboring countries look different. In Lithuania, around 7% of the population live below the absolute poverty line, while in Poland, the extreme poverty indicator is just over 5%. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a comparable national indicator of absolute or extreme poverty in Latvia. Because the methodologies used by Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland differ, these figures allow only a rough comparison between the countries. However, they do not reflect the difference that Kazakou presented to the audience.
Kazakou also referred to the Human Development Index. According to this index, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland rank ahead of Belarus: Poland is 35th, Lithuania 39th, Latvia 41st, and Belarus 65th.
