MINSK, 15 May (BelTA) - The International Day of Families is celebrated annually on 15 May in accordance with a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. Belarus marks Family Day on 15 May.
A strong family is the foundation of a state’s development. According to the 2019 population census, there were 2,612,413 families in Belarus. In 2025, 52,044 marriages were registered in the country.
The number of large families in the country is gradually increasing. Today, they account for 9.2% of all families, raising three or more children.
The state maintains its social commitments to support families with children. The country has ensured an increase in benefit amounts for such families, introduced additional types of financial support, and provides a wide range of social services. According to the Labor and Social Protection Ministry, expenditures on state benefits for families raising children in 2025 amounted to nearly Br3.7 billion, while maternity-related expenditures reached Br304.2 million.
A number of guarantees and support measures are also in place for families raising orphans and children left without parental care. Monthly cash payments are provided to foster parents, parent-educators, and guardians, as well as reimbursement for utilities related to the maintenance of orphaned children.
State support measures also apply to families who have adopted children. Presidential Decree No. 330 of 30 June 2014 “On State Support for Families Who Have Adopted Children” provides for monthly cash payments for adopted children until they reach the age of 16.
One of the most significant support measures for families upon the birth of their third and subsequent children in Belarus is the family capital. The one-time provision of non-cash funds from 1 January to 31 December 2026, amounts to Br35,505. As of 1 April 2026, a total of 153,100 deposit accounts under the family capital program had been opened for large families. Among these, 82,600 deposit accounts totaling $826 million and 70,400 deposit accounts totaling Br1.9 billion. Additionally, large families receive one-time financial assistance each year at the start of the school year.
A key priority of Belarusian state family policy is the protection of motherhood and childhood. State support for families is aimed not only at increasing birth rates and improving the material wellbeing of the population but also at strengthening the family as a social institution and the moral foundation for sustainable societal development. Life begins with the family, where a person is shaped as a citizen and an individual. Therefore, the family is the foundation of a nation’s development and the most important environment for preserving and passing down traditions, spiritual and moral values from generation to generation.
In the current five-year period, family policy is focused on improving conditions for childbirth and child-rearing, as well as preserving and strengthening family values. Priorities include measures to enhance social and economic support for families with children, and the main goal is to strengthen the impact on reproductive attitudes - including responsible parenting and encouraging working women to have children without the risk of a significant decline in income. All of this is provided for in the Demographic Potential Development state program for 2026–2030.
