Growth of GDP, wages and exports: how the economy of Belarus worked for 8 months of 2026

Belarus’ GDP in January-August 2026 grew by 1.9% and amounted to BYN 209.1 billion. Leaders in terms of contribution and growth rates of gross value added (GVA) were agriculture, information and communications, transport and trade, the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the rate of production in agriculture for eight months was 106.5%. In crop production, the dynamics was provided by an increase in rapeseed hammer by 1.5 times, while in livestock, the indicators increased due to an increase in animal productivity.

In the IT sector, the growth rate of GVA was 104.4% due to an increase in the number of employees and the number of orders.

In the transport industry, passenger and cargo turnover are steadily increasing - by 7.6% and 2.7%, respectively. Retail turnover increased by 8.4% due to the growth of real incomes of the population (by 8.1% in January-July). In wholesale trade, there is also a positive trend - 0.2%.

- According to the results of January-August, the industry was entrenched in the “green zone”: the rate of industrial production was 100.2%. At the same time, products go to shelves, not to warehouses: as of September 1, 2026, the cost of inventories amounted to 75.9% of the average monthly production volume, which is 4.6 percentage points lower than last year. As a result, the profitability of sales, net profit and the level of wages in the industry are growing, the Ministry of Economy noted.

Over 8 months, more than 2 million square meters of housing were commissioned, including about 275,000 square meters with state support.

Investment in fixed assets increased by 3.1%. In addition, enterprises continue to increase equipment costs by 5.8%.

Exports of goods and services in January-July 2026 (according to the methodology of the balance of payments) are 14.1% higher than the level of the same period last year. The geographical structure recorded a strengthening of positions in the CIS markets (growth by 23%) and the countries of the far arc (1.4 times). The main driver is services: in January-July 2026 an increase of 24.7%. As a result, the final balance of foreign trade was positive, the ministry said.

The efficient work of the economy allowed to ensure a high level of wages - in January-July it amounted to about 2,960 BYN. The average age pension exceeded BYN 1,060.