‘Digital’ portrait in relation to demograthy
By Veronica Krylova
Annually, over 50,000 boys are born countrywide (in 2011, 56,000). On average, there are 945 baby girls for every thousand boys: 947 in cities and 939 in rural areas.
As of early 2012, the average age of Belarusian men stood at 37 years, with those living in cities and towns being younger than those in villages (35.8 and 40.3 years respectively). Over all, the average age of men is five years younger than that of women.
Surprisingly, despite there being more women than men countrywide, there’s a lack of brides in the age category of under 33.
“Older men are more greatly outnumbered by women, with the greatest difference seen among the elderly; by 65, there are 1.5 times fewer men than women aged 73. A significant 33 percent of men create families aged 25-29 while the average age for a bridegroom marrying for the first time was 26.6 years in 2011; for second marriages, 40 is the average.”
Curiously, one poll shows that 32 percent of men assessed their health as good in early 2002, compared to 36.5 percent in early 2012. Moreover, a quarter of all men are involved in physical exercise while the number of smokers has fallen steadily; however, half of all men still smoke (as of early 2012).