Among the data that the Belarusian authorities preferred to hide from the general public, first of all, there were data on mortality – their Belarusian Statistical Committee (Belstat) has not published since June 2020, that is, almost the entire coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Belarus is the only country in Europe that has not published the death toll for 2020.
In addition, Belstat recently hid statistics for January-May 2021 on the turnover of some export goods. Data on mineral and chemical products, plastics and rubber, vehicles and machinery. It was these goods that came under the sanctions of the European Union.
Katerina Bornukova
Secret data is not new for Belarus
However, this is not the first time in Belarus. Director of the Belarusian Economic Research and Education Center BEROC Katerina Bornukova notes that Belstat has always been a closed department. “For a long time, figures on unemployment according to international methodology have not been published,” she notes. And the head of the Belarusian project “Costa Urada” (koshturada.by), an expert on data, Vladimir Kovalkin, reminds that the country hid data on tobacco products: “For obvious reasons, a huge smuggling goes to Russia and the EU.”
Director of the Minsk Institute “Political Sphere” Andrei Kazakevich also notes the tendency of greater secrecy on the part of the Belarusian state in recent years. “For example, the situation with integration with Russia is an important issue that determines the development of the country for many years, but the authorities consider it necessary to provide any information.
Belarusian authorities hide data for ideological reasons
Speaking about the reason for such actions of the authorities, Bornukova notes that this is mainly due to the state ideology, the most critical data in ideological terms. “Data on unemployment are not published, because there is no official unemployment rate in the country, the state believes that work can always be found. that the mortality figures of the Ministry of Health differ 15 times, “the economist explains.
Andrey Kazakevich
“Regarding the concealment of data on goods by sanctions, here, on the one hand, I don’t want to show that they are causing damage, because officials say that“ sanctions make us stronger. ”These sanctions can be somehow circumvented,” says Katerina Bornukova.
Expert Kazakevich supports the idea of his colleague: “This comes from the logic of the regime, that the people do not need to know anything, do not need to know anything, discuss and criticize anyone. “.
Analysts get hidden data
Vladimir Kovalkin also says that the Belarusian authorities consider themselves infallible, cannot afford to fail, and therefore resort to two methods – to lie and hide. “They lie when there are not enough and there are not enough analysts in the sphere to expose the lie.
In general, the expert does not consider statistical data, because you can still find out everything. “All data can be recalculated from other indicators. …
The political scientist Kazakevich does not consider the lack of export data to be a problem either: “They can always be checked by our trading partners, this will be reflected in the statistics.”
Lack of data affects the efficiency of the state apparatus
However, in general, Bornukov’s information policy is negative. “People are beginning to better understand what is happening in the economy, business is assessing whether the Belarusians are buying it or not, investing or not.
And some data, according to the economist, could be generally of decisive importance for society. “The mortality data could really affect the perception of the pandemic, perhaps someone was convinced by the masks and vaccinations. The queues for vaccinations,” notes Katerina Bornukova.
Meanwhile, Andrei Kazakevich calls the key effects of public information on important indicators a decrease in the level of criticism and the effectiveness of the work of a state body. “They have no incentives to strive to reduce negative consequences. The authorities will feel impunity because of their accountability to society and the understanding that someone can appreciate it.
See also:
Belarus in various world rankings
Democracy Index
When compiling a rating of democracy, The Economist analysts take into account such indicators as elections and pluralism, civil liberties, government activity, population in, political culture. In 2020, Belarus took 148th place out of 167 – next to Guinea-Bissau and Sudan. Of the post-Soviet countries, the situation is worse only in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Belarus in various world rankings
Corruption perception level
Ranking Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index is an indicator of the level of corruption in the public sector. In 2020, Belarus took 63rd place, sharing it with Cuba and Croatia. This is better than the indicators of Russia and Ukraine, but worse than those of Lithuania and Latvia. Of the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, things are best in Georgia (45th place) and Armenia (60th).
Belarus in various world rankings
Conditions for doing business
In the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report, which covers 190 economies of the world, it dropped to 49th place from 37th. Russia is in 28th place, Ukraine is in 64th. The highest positions of Belarus are in the indicator “registration of property” and “connection to the power supply system”. Worst of all – according to the criteria of “taxation”, “obtaining a loan” and “protection of minority agents.”
Belarus in various world rankings
Gender inequality
In the ranking of inequality between men and women, which is the World Economic Forum, Belarus is in 29th place out of 153. For comparison: Ukraine – 59th, Russia – 81st. Criteria include reproductive health, educational attainment, political participation, and labor market opportunities. In terms of the economic activity of women, Belarus is in 5th place, in terms of education – in 39th, in terms of participation in politics – in 81st.
Belarus in various world rankings
GDP per capita adjusted for cost of living
The indicator of GDP per capita, calculated in terms of purchasing power parity, speaks of the economic development of a country and the well-being of its average resident. In the ranking of the World Bank based on data for 2019, Belarus was ranked 66th out of 186 countries. Among the CIS countries, according to this indicator, it is in third place after Russia (50) and Kazakhstan (54).
Belarus in various world rankings
Media Freedom Level
In terms of freedom of the press, Belarus is in 158th place out of 180. This is the rating of 2021. Russia is on the 150th line, Ukraine – on the 97th. To compile it, Reporters Without Borders is conducting a survey of journalists, researchers and human rights defenders from around the world. Among the criteria are censorship, seizure of print runs, searches, beatings, arrests and other repressions against journalists.
Belarus in various world rankings
Militarization rating
The Global Militarization Index (GMI), which is compiled by the Bonn International Conversion Center (BICC), shows the relationship between the military budget and other public expenditures. According to data for 2019, Belarus is among the twenty most militarized states in the world (17th place). Its neighbors in the index are Azerbaijan and Iraq. The share of defense spending in the country’s GDP is 1.2 percent.
Belarus in various world rankings
World Happiness Index
This World Happiness Index does not take into account the current crisis in Belarus. Latest data for 2017-19. Then Belarus took 75th place out of 153. For comparison: Uzbekistan – 38th, Russia – 73rd, Ukraine – 123rd. The authors take into account such factors as the level of GDP per capita, life expectancy, the subjective perception of the level of social support by residents, corruption, and others.
Belarus in various world rankings
Human development index
When compiling the rating, such as the level of well-being and literacy, life expectancy are taken into account. In this 2020, Belarus is in 53rd position out of 189 – between Russia and Turkey. The average life expectancy of Belarusians is 74.8 years. The level of education is comparable to that of Japan and France. In terms of GDP per capita, Belarus lags behind Russia, Poland and Lithuania.
Belarus in various world rankings
Freedom of movement
In the world index of the attractiveness of passports, the author of which is the consulting company Henley & Partners, Belarus, together with Kazakhstan and China, shares the 70th line out of 110. With a Belarusian passport, you can now visit 75 countries without a visa. For comparison: with the passport of the Russian Federation – 116 countries, Ukraine – 130.
Belarus in various world rankings
Post services
Ranking of countries by the level of development of postal services The integrated index of postal development covers 170 countries. Belarus has a high score in it. In the list for 2020, it ranks 20th between Russia (19) and Slovakia (21). The Universal Postal Union calculates this rating based on the reliability, availability, relevance of postal services and their resilience to a crisis, for example, during a pandemic.
Belarus in various world rankings
Global Climate Risk Index
In the Global Climate Risk Index, compiled by the environmental organization Germanwatch, in 2019 Belarus, along with a number of other countries, took the last 130th place. This index assesses the vulnerability of countries to natural disasters. From 2000 to 2019, Belarus ranked 166th out of 180. The rating takes into account information on natural disasters and socio-economic data from the IMF.
