Labour · Europe & Central Asia · Upper-middle income
Belarus: the labour market
Labour force is 4.8m (2025), 90th of 187 in the world and 21st of 49 in Europe & Central Asia. Participation rate is 62.7% (2025), 85th of 187 in the world and 16th of 49 in Europe & Central Asia. Women's participation is 56.8% (2025), 67th of 187 in the world and 17th of 49 in Europe & Central Asia.
Labour force
Belarus
Participation rate
BelarusEurope & Central AsiaUpper-middle incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Belarus in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central Asia; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 4.8m2025 | 90/187 | 21/49 | 4.8m | 5.1m | 5.0m | −5.9%since 2015 | 429m | 1.5bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 62.7%2025 | 85/187 | 16/49 | 59.3% | 62.8% | 64.0% | −1.5 ppsince 2015 | 58.2% | 62.7% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 56.8%2025 | 67/187 | 17/49 | 53.5% | 57.4% | 57.9% | −1.9 ppsince 2015 | 51.1% | 53.4% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 60.6%2025 | 69/187 | 10/49 | 52.1% | 59.0% | 61.4% | +0.1 ppsince 2015 | 55.1% | 59.5% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 3.4%2025 | 133/187 | 44/49 | 12.2% | 6.1% | 4.0% | −2.5 ppsince 2015 | 5.4% | 5.2% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 2.7%2025 | 160/187 | 46/49 | 9.2% | 4.6% | 3.3% | −1.6 ppsince 2015 | 5.7% | 5.1% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 9.2%2025 | 127/187 | 41/49 | 21.7% | 10.9% | 12.0% | −1.6 ppsince 2015 | 14.0% | 15.6% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 65.7%2024 | 1/170 | 1/46 | 14.1%1999 | 10.9%2009 | 6.8% | +54.9 ppsince 2009 | 11.4% | 17.3% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 93.2%2025 | 11/187 | 3/49 | 85.3% | 91.0% | 92.4% | +1.0 ppsince 2015 | 83.3% | 61.3% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 6.3%2025 | 171/187 | 44/49 | 14.3% | 8.5% | 6.9% | −1.0 ppsince 2015 | 12.9% | 34.8% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 9.5%2025 | 111/187 | 17/49 | 19.0% | 11.7% | 10.9% | −0.3 ppsince 2015 | 6.7% | 19.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 31.1%2025 | 16/187 | 5/49 | 34.4% | 33.9% | 30.6% | −1.1 ppsince 2015 | 23.7% | 27.7% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 59.5%2025 | 95/187 | 36/49 | 46.6% | 54.4% | 58.5% | +1.4 ppsince 2015 | 69.7% | 52.4% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Employment rate+0.1 pp60.6% in 2025
- Unemployment−2.5 pp3.4% in 2025
- Female unemployment−1.6 pp2.7% in 2025
- Youth unemployment−1.6 pp9.2% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−1.9 pp56.8% in 2025
- Youth NEET rate+54.9 pp65.7% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Belarus and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Belarus. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Belarus | Russia | Ukraine | Poland | Lithuania | Latvia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 4.8m2025 | 72.8m2025 | 20.5m2021 | 18.2m2025 | 1.6m2025 | 948,4282025 |
| Participation rate | 62.7%2025 | 61.1%2025 | 54.6%2021 | 58.3%2025 | 62.9%2025 | 60.5%2025 |
| Women's participation | 56.8%2025 | 54.5%2025 | 47.7%2021 | 51.6%2025 | 57.7%2025 | 55.2%2025 |
| Employment rate | 60.6%2025 | 59.8%2025 | 49.3%2021 | 56.6%2025 | 58.7%2025 | 56.5%2025 |
| Unemployment | 3.4%2025 | 2.1%2025 | 9.8%2021 | 3.0%2025 | 6.7%2025 | 6.6%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 2.7%2025 | 2.2%2025 | 10.2%2021 | 3.1%2025 | 6.3%2025 | 5.5%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 9.2%2025 | 7.6%2025 | 19.1%2021 | 10.7%2025 | 13.8%2025 | 12.9%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 65.7%2024 | 6.7%2025 | 16.5%2017 | 10.1%2025 | 12.5%2025 | 9.1%2025 |
| Wage workers | 93.2%2025 | 93.7%2025 | 79.0%2021 | 81.1%2025 | 88.5%2025 | 86.3%2025 |