The salary of the inhabitants of any country reflects the quality of life in it. The characteristic of wages shows the direction of development of each state. Belarus is no less interesting in this regard, since the average salary of its specialists worries many people.
It is easy to guess that the level of income depends on labor productivity and the specialty of the employee, or rather, the popularity of the latter in the labor market. The most popular for 2019 are:
But by no means all of them receive a decent high salary, as there is a factor of ease of obtaining some professions. Thus, the work of computer programmers, according to 2017 data, is paid quite high: their average salary in some cases reaches 90 thousand Russian rubles, which is more than $1,000. "Air" employees receive 30 thousand rubles less, and workers in the field of oil processing - 50. The lowest income is social workers, plumbers and electricians.
Since the beginning of 2019, the average wage in Belarus has changed by months. So, in January it was 23 thousand Russian rubles, or 332 US dollars, increased by 383 rubles in February, and by another 1,500 rubles in March. In terms of the US currency, the increase was 27.5 dollars. The lowest paid workers can be considered the workers of the Brest region, where the average wage is about 22,300 thousand per month. Russian currency. For comparison, in Minsk in 2019, the average salary is fixed at 30 thousand, which is quite logical for the capital of the country.
The average salary includes only net salary. This is also all kinds of allowances: for harmfulness, length of service, work at night. Cash incentives in the form of bonuses are also taken into account. Don't forget about sick leave. If you look from the other side, then deductions in the form of taxes are also made from the salary. For formal workers, the average salary includes income tax in the first place.
But there is also a lower wage limit, in other words, the minimum wage, normalized by the country's legislation, which guarantees every worker that their salary will be sufficient for a monthly living. Lowering the bar by the employer threatens him with punishment. The government of Belarus in 2019 established living wage 5,400 Russian rubles, which is even less than $100.
Such noble professions as a teacher or a doctor do not lose their popularity, and it is impossible to imagine modern life without experts in these areas. In order to maintain interest in them, the government strictly monitors the level of salaries of teachers and doctors. Agree, the greater the monetary reward of an employee, the better services he provides. The state conducts an encouraging policy towards teachers and medical workers, as it is interested in attracting quality personnel.
Depending on the region of residence and the level of specialty, doctors can receive different incomes, but the average salary is 23 thousand in Russian currency, or 300 US dollars. Middle-level medical personnel earn half as much. The average salary of junior medical workers is 13.5 thousand rubles, or almost $200. Regarding educators in Belarus, back in 2013, a law was introduced on increasing wages, which increased salaries by one-fourth by 2019.
The size of the pension in this country is of no less interest, since people need a guarantee from the state, what kind of work seniority they will be provided with a comfortable old age. The answer to the question "What will be the pension?" depends on the number of years of service and the average income of the worker. In 2014, the Government of Belarus made changes to the procedure for calculating pension payments. So, from the beginning of 2016, after 15 years of service, a labor pension begins to accrue. In addition, to help citizens without work, there is a social pension.
The effect of labor accruals for men begins after 25 years of work. For women, this period is 20 years. But the obligatory condition is deduction in Pension Fund Money within 10 years. The retirement age in Belarus for 2019 is 63 for men and 58 for women. Minimum size monthly pension payments in this case is equal to 5.5 thousand Russian rubles, or in terms of the US currency 80 dollars.
In some industries, a seniority pension is possible when workers have worked out the necessary length of service, determined specifically for their position. The preferential pension is assigned to the following categories of citizens:
The Belarusian economy is currently in a weakened state, which creates negative pressure on average earnings citizens, thereby creating the basis for rising unemployment and poverty.
Back in 2017, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko set the task of bringing the average income of a resident of the country to 1,000 Belarusian rubles. As practice has shown, it was not possible to do this (if you do not pay attention to the December jump, which has nothing to do with the real state of affairs in the economy). Moreover, incomes in other regions of Belarus, except for the capital and the Minsk region, remain quite low. Lukashenka also focused on the low incomes of representatives public sector which, he said, needed to be further emphasized. However, no fundamental changes have taken place here either.
Perhaps, as in many other countries, in Belarus, workers from the air transport sector earn the most. The income in this industry is 2,200 rubles.
In second place are employees of enterprises specializing in the chemical industry. Here you can earn an average of 1,775 rubles. The third line in the ranking was occupied by the oil refining industry, where they receive 1,768 rubles. Also high wages in industries such as:
● finance – 1,740 rubles;
● insurance - 1,739 rubles;
● mining industry – RUB 1,460;
● design - 1,330 rubles;
● jurisprudence - 1,200 rubles;
● science – 1,150 rubles;
● pharmaceuticals – 1,050 rubles.
The employees of archives, museums and libraries manage to earn the least. The income of employees in these industries is only 500 rubles. Slightly higher wages for social workers. Here you can get an average of 508 rubles. Also, creative activity is not distinguished by high earnings. People receive only about 550 rubles a month.
So, the December spike turned out to be just an episodic spike to mimic vigorous activity before President Alexander Lukashenko. This was shown by the average income of Belarusians in 2018, which fell sharply in January. The president demands that the task be completed, but there is no real opportunity to carry it out. Businesses are simply not ready for this. Accordingly, it is hardly worth building any castles in the air around the statements of the President. Reality will be harsher.
Belarus is one of the most economically developed countries CIS. The government of this state is trying to maintain high social standards. This policy is to preserve old jobs and open new ones, to ensure a decent level of wages. Let's find out what is the current average salary in various fields activities in the Republic of Belarus.
But first, let's take a look at economic situation in Belarus as a whole to identify the main industries National economy where most of the population of the state is employed.
In structure country's GDP the main income belongs to enterprises that are located in state property. This explains the fact that in this country breaking economic system did not acquire such global significance as in other former republics of the USSR.
Although, in fact, there is no planned economy at the micro level, at the same time it should be noted that state control much tougher than in most post-Soviet countries. After the collapse of the Union, the Government of the Republic of Belarus managed to largely preserve the production infrastructure.
The main industries that are most developed in Belarus include:
It is these industries that form the lion's share of the country's GDP and provide most of the population with jobs. Unlike other CIS countries, most of the enterprises in these industries are owned by the state, which means that the government can influence the amount of wages paid to employees in these organizations.
For 2015, the average salary in the Republic of Belarus is 6,862,950 Belarusian rubles per month, which corresponds approximately to $388.5. Thus, the income of Belarusians is significantly inferior to average monthly earnings Russians, for whom it is approximately equivalent to $505, but exceeds the average wages in such countries of the post-Soviet space as Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Tajikistan, etc.
You also need to take into account the factor that the price level in Belarus is lower than in Russia.
The dynamics of change average salary leaves a double impression. On the one hand, from the end of 2013 to the present day, the earnings of Belarusians have increased by 1,008,286 Belarusian rubles, but on the other hand, they have decreased by as much as $232.1. This is due to the significant devaluation of the Belarusian currency in late 2014 - early 2015.
Traditionally, the highest salaries are in the capital of Belarus - the city of Minsk, followed by the Minsk and Gomel regions. The salary in the Grodno, Vitebsk and Mogilev regions falls short of the average level of income in the country. And the least people earn in the Brest region.
Since October 2015, the minimum wage has been 1,841,483 Belarusian rubles, or $104, which is almost twice as much as in Ukraine.
Now let's take a look at which industries and professions have the highest wages in Belarus, and who earns the least. The table below will help you understand this.
| Profession (industry) | Salary per month, Bel. rub. | Salary in dollars |
| Programmers | 16 388 875 | 925 |
| Pilots | 14 072 635 | 794 |
| Oil refining industry | 12 769 754 | 721 |
| Mining | 11 899 548 | 672 |
| Doctors | 9 167 300 | 518 |
| Construction | 7 660 300 | 432 |
| Transport and communications | 7 469 600 | 422 |
| Education | about 4,000,000 | 225 |
| Services | about 4,000,000 | 225 |
As you can see, IT workers, that is, programmers, earn the most in Belarus. Their average salary is 16,388,875 Belarusian rubles per month. That is, more than 2 times higher than the average for all professions in general. Representatives of information technology in terms of wages are followed by aircraft pilots, workers in the oil refining and extractive industries. They also have a very high income.
Doctors, builders, as well as transport and communications workers earn slightly above average in Belarus. But teachers and service workers were much less fortunate. Often their salary does not even reach the level of $225.
Of course, up to the level of salaries of countries Western Europe and even Russia, Belarusians are still very far away. Although, before the last devaluation of the Belarusian ruble at the beginning of 2015, the incomes of the inhabitants of Belarus looked more than decent against the background of the earnings of most other CIS countries.
And now they have declined still not as much as they fell real income, for example, citizens of Ukraine. The incomes of Belarusians are significantly inferior Russian salaries, but the price level in Russia is also higher. Therefore, some Belarusians reasonably say that it is profitable to earn money in Russia and spend it in Belarus.
Every month Belstat summarizes what we have earned. And in addition to average values, as a rule, the rating of salaries by industry is displayed, from the lowest to the highest. Many say that in reality they don’t get that much, they say, the average temperature in the hospital, what can I say. But we did find three people who are paid amounts practically from statistics. On condition of anonymity, they told us about their income.
Traditionally, the sphere of culture is considered to be the poorest industry in Belarus. Even among state employees, this is the lowest paid industry. In August, the average accrued salary here amounted to 448.1 Belarusian ruble. This is less than that of health workers, social workers and teachers.
Artem is 27 years old, he is an orchestra musician. Lives in the Minsk region with his wife and small child. He has been involved in music since the age of five, plays at concerts and teaches at a music school. August after paying income tax, professional contribution and pension contributions, Artem had 390 rubles left in his hands (“dirty” the guy was charged a little more than 458 rubles).
- Four hours a day we have rehearsals, and another four is self-preparation, which may include work in the library, rehearsals at home, and so on, - he explains. - It turns out a full-fledged eight-hour working day.
“Many people think, they say, that there -“ popilikat ”for four hours and that’s it. Such an opinion, unfortunately, exists. But this is a myth. In addition to playing in the orchestra, I also teach piano lessons. And a lot of students come out after an hour of classes and say: “It would be better if I unloaded the wagons.”
It turns out that making music is not easy. For many, this is a revelation. Why is it not easy? Because for this you need to have a certain skill. It is clear that physical labor is hard, digging the same trenches is not easy. But this does not require a skill worked out over the years. And in order to play a solo concert or perform on stage, you need to put in 15 years of everyday practice. If I don't work out for a week, my skill will deteriorate.
- Therefore, I have to study on vacation: for example, I rehearsed for 3-4 hours in the summer in the 30-degree heat. This is to keep you qualified. Again, the work needs to be known by heart, it's like telling a 40-minute passage from "War and Peace" with all the punctuation marks and with expression. And then it will be easier, harder to play.
Artem says that the musician’s salary is enough for him exactly for a “communal apartment”, a travel card, telephone, Internet and food.
- There is no money left for anything else. It's very, very sad, the guy shakes his head. - Therefore, all my friends and familiar musicians are looking for additional earnings. As a rule, people work three jobs, take tutoring and so on. Of course, the quality of performance suffers from this, because you have to spray it. But there are 50 rubles, there are 70, there are 100 - and now there is a decent increase. Nevertheless, a lot of musicians, of course, leave the country. You understand: here it’s 390 rubles and some part-time jobs, and then you come right away for $1,200.
Artem believes that with modern price tags in Minsk, you need to earn at least 1,500 rubles in order to be able to provide for a family with a wife and a child.
- These are not unfounded statements, I determined this figure based on the prices of food, clothes, medicines and our needs, - the guy says. - With such an income, in my opinion, you can really make music, look for repertoires, play concerts and not be sprayed. And then it will really high level performers and musicians. And in general culture.
“Unfortunately, culture in our country is now in a decadent state. If something else is happening in Minsk, then in the regions the situation with the level of cultural events is very sad.”
- You know, you can talk a lot and even wait, hope and believe that the state will suddenly raise our salaries, musicians, to the same 1,500 rubles. But the reality is that this will not happen, you should not count on it seriously, - concludes Artem. - Therefore, I found another type of activity for myself and now I'm starting a part-time job - I give private lessons.
The August average salary in the republic amounted to 844 rubles. In Minsk, it is higher - 1138.3. In the same August, the average salary of a 30-year-old Minsk resident Vasily did not reach this amount, he was charged 1,100 rubles “dirty”. He says that he only has such a salary during active sales in the season, and this is in the summer. In autumn and winter - calm, and they can even pay 500 rubles each.
- I work in sales. I sell electrical says the man. - In fact, as soon as I came in the morning, sat down at the computer, picked up the telephone receiver, and put it down in the evening. There is a lot of work - contracts, invoices, there is no time to raise your head. Yes, I often go there without lunch. You have to place orders, make tenders, and so on. The load is big, I even take work home.
Vasily is married, lives with his wife on rented apartment. It takes about 350 rubles a month.
- Add here a "communal" of 70 rubles (no one is registered in the apartment), travel cards and mobile payments. Now there is no impressive part of the salary, - he says. - The rest we spend on food and clothes, sometimes on travel. Now they got into a loan for an apartment. So every month another 500 rubles goes to him. Fortunately, my wife also works and earns well, a little more than I do. But still, in fact, one salary goes to current needs. And we live on the second.
- Yes, I seem to have good earnings by Belarusian standards, Vasily notes. - But because of the loan and the rented apartment, most of it goes to current needs. I'm not talking about postponing.
“In the current situation, this is unrealistic. In my opinion, a normal income for the middle class in Belarus is from 3,000 rubles. And it should be a salary for a rate, and not for working 14 hours a day. Because there should still be time for yourself and your family. This is the good money you need, with which you can live with dignity and not feel like a beggar.
With such a salary, you can support children, save for old age, buy fruits and vegetables regardless of the season, not think about how to buy good normal things, and calmly go to the doctor if necessary, without punching a hole in the budget.
- Many may think, they say, this amount is fantastic. Like, with that kind of money you can chic and not deny yourself anything. But this is true until the moment you are going to buy a house, have a child or undergo treatment,- says the man.
- As soon as you discover some nuances with health that need to be addressed, at that moment you understand how poor and impoverished you are. Even with my 1100 rubles... That's why I'm actively retraining now.
- You can earn more, it all depends on experience and skills, - says 34-year-old Maxim. He lives in Minsk in a rented apartment, although he has his own. He says he doesn't really like what he bought, and he is going to sell it.
- At my stage, when there is experience in many and different companies, when you know the technology, pricing and so on, you can get from 6 to 10 thousand rubles. This is the level of senior developer and team leader. If you go to graduate from the university, then, of course, it is unrealistic to get such a salary.
“The intensity of work depends on the task. But, for example, for a salary of 6 thousand rubles, you need 6 hours a day of intensive work, tensing as much as possible and not relaxing. No social media, no YouTube, few coffee breaks or a smoke if you smoke.”
Maxim says that earlier programmers in some specialties had a freebie: it was possible, without much effort, to earn 3-4 thousand rubles. But companies are now seriously optimizing their costs, and this is becoming less and less common.
- This salary is enough for me to buy a BMW, an apartment, go on vacation 3-4 times a year to the same Spain, Italy,- explains the man. - Lately I don't drive much. I use Uber. It's about $100 a month. BMW service will cost more.
I buy a computer every four years, I take a more powerful flagship. This is a working tool, so I do not skimp on it. Right now I have a Lenovo ThinkPad with Core i7 and 32GB mem. It was the most powerful computer at the time of purchase. I pay a small communal fee, I set up auto-payment, so I don’t notice these payments. From time to time I go somewhere on the same Zybitskaya, I take girls to restaurants. In total, I figured, 2-3 thousand rubles are enough for me to live.
- I save the rest of the money. I invested in deposits, but now they have become uninteresting. I tried to play forex, invest in cryptocurrencies, mine, but this is more to be in trend. In general, I am looking for ways to make savings bring income.
You have to work quite a lot and intensively, sometimes for 10-12 hours, so you don’t always have time to spend what you get. One of the reasons I'm not married anymore is that I spent too much time at work. As for the attitude towards programmers, when people think that our salary is too high, it depends on what to compare with.
“Compared to the mine, the work there is harder, harder and more hazardous to health. And of course, the miners should be paid more.”
- When compared with salaries in the world market, I would not say that ours are too high. They are average in the market. Yes, in the US, wages are higher, but costs are also higher. In India it is lower, but the quality of professionals is worse. We have quite an adequate average salary in this area.
As for the average salary in the country, here, according to Maxim, he could easily live on an amount of 1,600 to 3,000 rubles a month.
- It would be enough if you do not spend money on restaurants, clubs and booze, - the man says. - Even with such a salary, you can already worry a little because of the prices for food and clothes. I think even something could remain and some kind of loan could be repaid.
According to the database of vacancies of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, 46 thousand vacancies out of 55.2 thousand offer a salary of up to 600 rubles. Slightly more than 8.5 thousand vacancies offer salaries from 601 to 1500 rubles. Over 1,500 rubles are ready to pay for 214 offers.
- The labor market, like any other market, creates supply and demand, - says the head of the research project "Analytical review of the labor market and wages" of the consulting company "Here and Now" Olga Nadtochaeva. The higher the demand and the lower the supply, the more money the employer is willing to offer employees. And, accordingly, the greater the supply and the lower the demand, the less the likelihood of wage growth for this position. And there is nothing to be offended here. These are the simple laws of economics..
If, in principle, there is a shortage of workers in some specialty, then the level of income will increase for almost everyone, they will hire young specialists, fight for them, train and raise them. We had a similar situation at the beginning of the IT market. If the industry is focused on ready-made professionals, then such employees will be poached and their earnings will increase, while the salaries of young professionals will remain at the same level.
Of course, the situation in the economy itself also affects the growth of wages. For example, in 2014-2016, due to the crisis, there was no work even for expensive and professional specialists, not to mention ordinary employees.
“Now the situation has not changed, people have ceased to be afraid to change jobs, they have again ceased to appreciate it somewhere. And more and more often they risk entering the labor market in order to find more favorable conditions for themselves.”
Nevertheless, not the most qualified personnel enter the market. And many employers complain that they cannot close vacancies in a quality manner, because there are not enough specialists with the necessary qualifications. There are either very expensive specialists on the market now, or those who still need to be taught and taught.
Employers are not ready to outbid specialists. The situation in the economy is not rosy now, it is very difficult for organizations to earn money. There is a fairly high competition for services, so companies are not ready to increase costs. They are ready to hire good specialists, but within their budgets. Therefore, even a good specialist can now enter the market, walk and walk and still not find anything. So far, this is an imbalance.
The average salary in Belarus in 2019 is of interest not only to Belarusians themselves, but also to residents of Russia. The fact is that, according to the legislation on the Union State, citizens of both countries can work for each other without obtaining additional permits - and therefore a considerable number of Russians move to Belarus and work there. Let's see what they can count on by finding a job in this country.
The amount of salary depends largely on how efficiently the country's economy works. With regard to Belarus, this is quite true. During the times of the USSR, this republic, although it was largely agrarian, also had a fairly powerful industrial base. Despite the events that have taken place over two and a half decades, by 2019 Belarus still retains a developed industry, especially mechanical engineering and metal processing.
However, it should be borne in mind that in Belarus the salary varies greatly, depending on:
The Belarusian state allocates additional funds for certain areas, but in general it should be noted that Belarusian economy going through hard times in 2019. There is a trend towards an increase in average wages - but at the same time, an increase in unemployment is also possible. Inflation also has a certain influence - according to it, Belarus is now in 14th place in the world ranking of states.
In addition, despite the agreements on the Union State, Russia and Belarus have not yet united their currencies. Therefore, although the currency of the neighboring country is also called the ruble, the local ruble is, on average, (as of the summer of 2019) 30-31 Russian. That is why in the future, speaking about the size of the salary or salary of a Belarusian, it will always be indicated which rubles are in question. In some cases, for convenience, the amount will be indicated in US dollars, since the exchange rate of this currency is known all over the world.
According to Belarusian statistics, the highest average wage in the region was achieved in 2019 in the Soligorsk district of the Minsk region. There, the average salary is 1,208 Belarusian rubles. Even Minsk itself is a little behind - there are only 1,103 rubles.
On the contrary, Belarusians earn the least in the Sharkovshchina district of the Vitebsk region. It recorded an average salary of only 446 rubles. This disproportion is explained by the fact that Minsk and the Minsk region are the region where the majority of large industrial enterprises, and Soligorsk, in addition, is a center for the extraction of potash salt. Vitebsk region is predominantly agricultural.
In general, in the country, the average salary of a worker in Belarus in 2019 is about 795.20 Belarusian rubles, or about 23 thousand Russian rubles.
However, the demand does not mean that in each of these areas the salaries are maximum. Salaries for managers financial sphere and programmers are indeed high (1,481 and 2,460 Belarusian rubles, respectively), but teachers can count on only 538 rubles, and in healthcare - only 615 rubles.
For comparison, here are the average salaries in some other areas of activity:
As in Russia, in Belarus there is a minimum amount of the amount that the employer is obliged to pay to his employee. As of June 2019, it is 265 local rubles. The value was set in January and has not changed since then.
However, in addition to the local analogue of the minimum wage, there is also such a value as the cost of living. This value is set by the government and shows how much money is needed, in fact, to guarantee the survival of a citizen. As of June 2019, the budget for this minimum in Belarus is 183.82 local rubles.
In conclusion, we should mention what pensioners in this country can expect. Belarus has:
The retirement age of our neighbors is:
For some citizens engaged in a profession with special conditions, the age can be reduced. This applies to the military, employed in aviation, teachers, athletes, etc.
The amount of the pension depends on how much the citizen paid to the Pension Fund. The minimum amount is currently approximately equal to 5,500 Russian rubles.
Recently, the authorities of Belarus have set themselves the task of bringing the average wage to 500 US dollars per person per month.
The execution of this program is scheduled for December 2019. Since the plans were officially announced, the country's leadership will try:
However, as of July 2019, the plans are still far from being fulfilled. In particular, the media note that for the remaining 7 months, an increase of at least $74 is required.
Important! However, over the past 10 years, the overall average wage has consistently shown an upward trend. From May 2007 to May 2019, it grew by almost 13 times.
Thus, for a simple worker, Belarus is a rather attractive place where you can provide yourself at a decent level due to your work. There are certain problems in the economy, but they are not serious enough to seriously interfere with decent earnings.
