Belarus: Proportion of population facing impoverishing out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Belarus' proportion of population facing impoverishing out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2019 (from 7.83% to 7.81%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2019), the average change was −1.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.29 percentage points in 2005 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.3 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.4 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 5.79% for 2023. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2018 to 2020 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.72%, against 1.42% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Belarus in the 2020 ranking

• Viet Nam — 1st of 3: 19.47%
• Armenia — 2nd of 3: 11.04%

What this measures

Proportion of population spending more than 100% of household discretionary budget on out-of-pocket health expenditure (%). This includes people living in poverty that are further impoverished due to out-of-pocket health expenditure as well as people who are pushed into poverty by out-of-pocket health expenditure. The discretionary budget is defined as the total household budget, measured by consumption expenditure or income, minus the societal poverty line (SPL ). Using 2017 purchasing power parities (PPPs), the SPL corresponds to whichever is greater: $2.15 (the international poverty line) or $1.15 + 50% of median household consumption expenditure or income, excluding out-of-pocket household expenditure on health. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 19 values

Proportion of population facing impoverishing out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%) in nearby economies

• Armenia — 11.04% (2020)
• Bulgaria — 8.71% (2023)
• Czechia — 7.24% (2023)
• Georgia — 18.01% (2024)
• Greece — 13.33% (2023)
• Kazakhstan — 7.05% (2018)
• Kyrgyz Republic

More health data for Belarus

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 3.56% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 4.32% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 700,885 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 14.44% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 742,772 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 17.55% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 1.44 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 15.89% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.05% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Belarus's proportion of population facing impoverishing out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%)?

7.81% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH_UHC_FH40_IMPOV, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Universal Health Coverage Dataset, World Health Organization (WHO); World Bank (WB), note: Universal Health Coverage Dataset Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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