Geographic shifts in the rural settlement of Belarus and new approaches to the mapping of this process

Authors

  • Ekaterina A. Antipova Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus
  • Olga A. Rozzhalovets Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

Keywords:

Belarus, population mapping, rural settlement, polarisation, urbanisation, decrease in average population, decrease in population density
Supporting Agencies
The article was supported by the state programme of scientific research «Society and human security of the Belarusian state» for 2021–2025 (the subprogramme «Economics», task 3.04 «Scientific foundations for the development of human capital in the context of ensuring social, demographic, environmental and economic security in the Republic of Belarus») (state registration No. 20211948).

Abstract

The lack of studies of changes in the rural settlement of Belarus over the period between the last two population censuses (2009–2019), as well as detailed maps reflecting this topic, indicates the relevance of this issue, both from scientific and applied points of view. Temporal trends and spatial patterns of rural settlement (by analysing the internal structure of this process) and the distribution of the population of Belarus (by creating the most informative maps) are revealed. The analysis of the rural settlement of Belarus for 2009–2019 with the use of geoinformation technologies in mapping has made it possible to identify a number of key trends. The depopulation of the rural population (10 % in 2009–2019) led to the formation of a stable small-scale settlement system (the average village size is 91 people) while maintaining a significant number of rural settlements in its framework (more than 23 thsd). At the regional level, it has been determined that rural settlement is characterised by polarisation, which manifests itself in the allocation of two groups of regions according to the nature of the dynamics of the rural population – regions with negative dynamics of the rural population (Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev regions) and region with positive dynamics of the rural population (Minsk region). Against the background of the established reduction in the average village size and density of the rural population in Belarus, there is an active urbanisation in the capital region (Minsk region) with reverse processes – an increase in the average population (by 4.0 %) and the density of the rural population (by 3.7 %). The internal structure of the rural settlement of Belarus is characterised by the concentration of the population in large settlements with their small share in the settlement structure. In general, the geographic pattern of rural settlement has transformed from a continuum to a focal one, with the identification of several areas of the highest concentration of the rural population. There is a contraction of the large settlement zone in the south of the country, its expansion in the central part of the country at the expense of the Minsk region, and the widespread expansion of the small settlement zone.

Author Biographies

  • Ekaterina A. Antipova, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

    doctor of science (geography), full professor; professor at the department of economic and social geography, faculty of geography and geoinformatics

  • Olga A. Rozzhalovets, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

    trainee lecturer at the department of geodesy and aerospace cartography, faculty of geography and geoinformatics

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Published

2023-05-28

Issue

No. 1 (2023): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Geography and Geology

Section

Geography

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How to Cite

[1]
Antipova, E.A. and Rozzhalovets, O.A. 2023. Geographic shifts in the rural settlement of Belarus and new approaches to the mapping of this process. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Geography and Geology. 1 (May 2023), 57–70.