Belarus Geography - 2024

Location

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates

53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references

Europe

Area

total: 207,600 sq km

land: 202,900 sq km

water: 4,700 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries

total: 3,599 km

border countries (5): Latvia 161 km; Lithuania 640 km; Poland 375 km; Russia 1,312 km; Ukraine 1,111 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain

generally flat with much marshland

Elevation

highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m

mean elevation: 160 m

Natural resources

timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay

Land use

agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.)

forest: 42.7% (2018 est.)

other: 13.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

303 sq km (2020)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Dnyapro (Dnieper) (shared with Russia [s] and Ukraine [m]) - 2,287 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Dnieper (533,966 sq km)

Population distribution

a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Natural hazards

large tracts of marshy land

Geography - note

landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes