Average wages in Belarus by profession and industry
Salaries in Belarus are collected and published on this page by the industries. We took real income and people and not figures from the state-sponsored propaganda. Also we publish plans to increase income of state workers in the amount in which it was promised by the government of the country.
Minimum wages in Belarus
Minimum wage in Belarus in 2021 year was 375 BYN. In 2019 this indicator amounted to 330 BYN (an increase of 13.5%). The dynamics is shown in the table below.
| 2016 year | 239.42 BYN |
| 2017 year | 265 BYN |
| 2018 year | 305 BYN |
| 2019 year | 330 BYN |
| 2020 year | 375 BYN |
We will remind that in Jule, 2016 a denomination took place in the country which reduced the number of zeroes in the local currency. Current 375 BYN s in the old version looked like 3750000 BYN which was extremely uncomfortable in everyday use.
Minimal salary every year is established by the Ministers of the Republic of Belarus’ council in December for the next year. Employers have no right to conclude labour agreements with a less salary indicator than provided by law. This allows to protect the rights of workers and to sustain the level of well-being in the country. At present, the Belarusian rate is close to the similar Russian one in respect to its indicator.
Average wages in Belarus by region
The average wage in Belarus in 2019 was 1117.9 BYN which roughly corresponds to 548 US dollars. Let’s look at real wages both on a nationwide scale and with an analysis of individual regions for 2018. This will show us richer and poorer regions in terms of personal income.
| Region | Salaries, BYN | Growth, for the year |
| The Republic of Belarus | 959,8 | 11,7 % |
| The Brest Region | 832,4 | 12,2 % |
| The Vitebsk Region | 813,5 | 12,4 % |
| The Gomel Region | 864,6 | 11,9 % |
| The Grodno Region | 831,3 | 11,1 % |
| Minsk | 1323,8 | 11,2 % |
| The Minsk Region | 962,7 | 11,7 % |
| The Mogilev Region | 804,3 | 10,2 % |
The largest growth in income was noted in such areas as IT, airplane and passenger transport, mineral industry. The lowest growth in income was noted in agricultural sector and stockbreeding.
Only salaries are used in the calculation of average wages. Additionally, employees receive:
- bonuses,
- overtime premium,
- harmful exposure allowance,
- long-service pay.
Level of poverty
A minimum wage budget in the amount of 216.90 BYN is established in the country. If a person does not have this wage he is considered poor. So, on average, across the country 5.6% of the inhabitants of Belarus live in poverty. At the same time in the Minsk region this indicator is only 1.2% but in the Brest region — 8.1% which is more eloquent than any words.
Average wages by profession
| Profession | Wage, BYN | Wage, RU |
| Programmers | 2470 | 77500 |
| Financial specialists | 1490 | 46750 |
| Transportat sector employees | 850 | 26675 |
| Builders | 790 | 24790 |
| Aviation employees | 3100 | 97300 |
| Cargo carriers pilots | 2000 | 62755 |
| Architect engineers | 1700 | 53350 |
| Chemical industry workers | 1340 | 42050 |
| Mineral deposits miners | 1970 | 61820 |
| Metallurgy workers | 1030 | 32320 |
| Route taxi drivers | 1000 | 31380 |
| Policemen | 810 | 25420 |
| Insurance clerks | 2100 | 65900 |
| Accounting clerks | 860 | 26990 |
| Collective farmers and foresters | 550 | 17260 |
| Cultural workers | 435 | 13650 |
Structure of the labour marker and in-demand jobs
Having analyzed job openings on Belarusian job sites we have compiled a table of in-demand jobs in the country as of now.
| Field of activity | Vacancy rate |
| Sales | 32 % |
| IT and telecom | 15,2 % |
| Advertising, PR and marketing | 12 % |
| Production | 7,2 % |
| Logistics and transport | 6,5 % |
| Finance and accounting | 6,5 % |
| Administrative personnel | 6,1 % |
| Jobs for those who start a career | 5,9 % |
| Real estate and construction | 5,2 % |
| Workforce | 5,1 % |
| Tourism and catering industry | 4,7 % |
| Banks and investments | 4,1 % |
| HR and trainings | 3,9 % |
| Medicine and pharmaceutics | 3,0 % |
Among the least n-demand jobs are psychologists, translators and lawyers. Universities produce too many personnel in such jobs but real vacancies for them in the country remain scarce. The exception is translators from Chinese and Japanese. They are always in great demand.
Teachers’ wages
Wages of teachers and kindergarten teachers are presented in the table below. As can be seen state employees in this country receive very little money for their work. Even despite the annual promised increases the payment rate remains two times lower than on average people earn in the Republic of Belarus.
| Profession | Wage, BYN | Wage, RU |
| Kindergarten teachers | 520 | 16360 |
| Teachers | 550 | 17260 |
| Social service workers | 440 | 13900 |
Doctors’ salaries
Doctors in Belarus earn less than workers of many other professions. Assisting health workers and middle medical personnel, in essence, live on the verge of survival. And this despite the high social importance of their work.
| Profession | Wage, BYN | Wage, RU |
| Doctors | 920 | 28870 |
| Middle medical personnel | 680 | 21340 |
| Assisting health workers | 510 | 16002 |
Military men salaries
The table below shows the salaries of career officers and employees of the Ministry of Defense. That’s who can really live on a large scale in this country, unlike most of its inhabitants.
| Profession | Wage, BYN | Wage, RU |
| Lieutenant | 730 | 22905 |
| Senior lieutenant | 770 | 24160 |
| Captain | 810 | 25416 |
| Major | 860 | 26985 |
| Lieutenant-colonel | 930 | 29182 |
| Colonel | 1050 | 32950 |
| Troop commander | 2100 | 65895 |
| Squadron commander | 2400 | 75306 |
| Battalion commander | 3100 | 97271 |
| Brigade commander | 4000 | 125511 |
| Teacher of the Military Academy | 3500 | 109822 |
| Headman of the higher educational institution | 3900 | 123773 |
| Senior officer of the Ministry of Defense | 3700 | 116097 |
| Head of the Department of the Ministry of Defense | 4300 | 134935 |
| Head of the Directorate of the Ministry of Defense | 4600 | 144337 |
At the same time the official salary of the president is about 4,700 BYN (or just over 150,000 Russian rubles). At the same time the average wage of deputies is about 3,520 BYN (or just over 110,000 rubles per month).
Wage income tax in Belarus
Wage income tax in Belarus is 13%. Plus 1% is deducted to the Social Protection Fund. In total 14% is withheld from the employee. At the same time the employer deducts another 34% from each wage to the Social Protection Fund. This Fund later pays pensions, social benefits and sick pays. The total tax burden is 48%. This is 4.8% higher than in Russia.