DEMOGRAPHIC SPACE OF THE BELARUSIAN CITIES IN THE XXI CENTURY

The modern dynamics of the Belarusian urban population differs from the total population dynam-ics in the country. The total population size of Belarus decreased from 10.1 to 9.5 million or 6 %, the ur-ban population increased from 6.2 to 6.7 million, or 8.2% in the period from 1989 to 2009 years. The level of the natural population loss remains high in the rural area (13.6 ‰), while a stable natural population in-crease is observed in urban settlements (0.5‰, 2010).
Indicators of natural movement of the urban population of Belarus have significant differentiation between regions. On the basis of factors which generate demographic situation in Belarusian cities spatial regularities of dynamics of urban demographic development have been established. Currently two region types can be distinguished in the Belarusian urbanised space: 1) central-south-western type with population increase; 2) north-western-southern type with population decrease. The first type includes the cities of Brest, Grodno, Minsk regions and the Minsk city with the highest indexes in the Brest region (2.4 ‰). The second type includes the cities of Vitebsk, Gomel and Mogilev regions with the highest natural population loss characteristics in the Vitebsk region (2.7 ‰).