# Belarus and Latvia compared

Belarus and Latvia side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, their chronicles record no events of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/blr-vs-lva
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Belarus: 25 August 1991 — Belarus declares independence from the Soviet Union
- Latvia: 18 November 1918 — Latvia declares independence

## Economy

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $76 B | 2024 | $44 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $8,318 | 2024 | $23,409 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 4.0% | 2024 | -0.0% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 5.8% | 2024 | 1.3% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 131.9% | 2024 | 132.3% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 9.1 m | 2024 | 1.9 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 74.4 yrs | 2024 | 76.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 79.2% | 2024 | 68.5% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.2 | 2024 | 1.2 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 27.3 | 2024 | 76.6 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 59.4 | 2024 | 76.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 37.7 | 2024 | 65.8 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 35.4 | 2024 | 72.2 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 35.8 | 2024 | 75.7 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 36.2 | 2024 | 64.6 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 7.1% | 2023 | 7.3% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 4.72 | 2023 | 3.40 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.3 | 2024 | 2.5 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 98.0% | 2024 | 98.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 93.1% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 99.9% | 2019 | 99.9% | 2011 |
| Education spending | 5.0% | 2024 | 4.3% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.8% | 2024 | 97.6% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 94.8% | 2024 | 101.3% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 70.1% | 2024 | 82.9% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.6% | 2024 | 0.8% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 1,568 | 2024 | 2,191 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 94.3% | 2024 | 92.7% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 131 | 2024 | 121 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 6.0% | 2021 | 17.5% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 202,983 km² | 2023 | 62,230 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 43.4% | 2023 | 55.0% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 39.6% | 2023 | 31.7% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 5.9 | 2024 | 3.6 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 8.2% | 2021 | 44.0% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 1.9% | 2021 | 1.2% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.8% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 1.0% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | Belarus | Observed | Latvia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.1% | 2024 | 3.3% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $1.5 B | 2024 | $1.4 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 158,000 | 2020 | 9,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/BLR.md and https://terralore.co/country/LVA.md.

## Entangled histories (0 events)

Neither nation's sourced chronicle names the other — across both archives, no recorded event crosses between them. That is a fact about the two records as they stand, not a gap filled here.

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/BLR/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/LVA/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Belarus and Latvia compared", terralore.co/compare/blr-vs-lva, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.