Euroradio fact-checks Lukashenka's statements during State of Nation address

Maternal mortality at zero, the lowest number of public servants in the world, a 'sea' of Ukrainian refugees - Euroradio fact-checks the statements by the head of state during his April 21 State of the Nation address.

“There is no other country in the world with the lower number of civil servants”

WHAT DID LUKASHENKA SAY?

"There should be a sufficient number of civil servants but not much, not more than necessary. We are already No 1 in a good sense of this word by the number of civil servants per 1000 people. There is no country in the world with the lower number of civil servants than in Belarus."

REALITY

The number of civil servants is decreasing indeed, at least according to National Statistics Committee (Belstat). In 2011, there were over 56 thousand civil servants employed in Belarus; 2013 - 49 thousand. Two years later, there were 48 thousand. However, other studies show the opposite. In the ranking by the influential Russian business news agency RBK, Belarus is...No 2 in the world after Egypt with the highest number of civil servants. Russian experts reckon that civil servants in Belarus (including law-enforcement personnel, teachers, medical workers and employees with state enterprises) account for as much as 43% of the total number of the working age population (2014 data). Only Egypt has more - 63.4%. Russia has 30.6%, Poland - 20.2%, United States - 14.4%.

"People can approach government bodies, not just an employment center."

WHAT DID LUKASHENKA SAY?

“Local administrations (executive committees) have set up employment commissions. Every citizen can approach them and receive help. People can approach government bodies, not just an emloyment center."

REALITY

Local government bodies have employement commissions, indeed! These commissions offer...the same job vacancies as the ones listed by employment centers. What is the difference? Tacciana Tsitulenka from the Vilejka District Employment Commission (she also works at the local employment center) says:

"Previously, we had meetings every day at the district administration and invited people to come and they came. But now that people are not coming any longer, we decided not to have commission members sit every week but refer job seekers to me. I take their personal details and have them scheduled to appear before the commission. We later work with those people. But for you to understand, both the commission and the employment center use the same database about the available jobs."

“Neo-mortality and maternal martelity is equal to zero”

WHAT DID LUKASHENKA SAY?

"Women from Russia come to Viciebsk to give birth, leave alone Minsk. They come here because they trust - all because neo-mortality and maternal mortality is equal to zero in Belarus."

REALITY

There were years when maternal mortality was equal to zero, indeed - for example, in 2013 and 2015. In 2016, there were two mortality cases. In 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, there was one case of maternal mortality.

On yet another important indicator - neo-mortality, 373 babies died in 2016 - more than in 2015. In the world ranking, Belarus is in Top 20.

“We accepted over 160 000 Ukrainian displaced persons”

WHAT DID LUKASHENKA SAY?

“Ukraine is not just our neighbor. This is a fraternal country, a fraternal nation. We have accepted over 160 000 displaced persons."

REALITY

The figure of 160 000 displaced persons from Ukraine was for the first time announced by the representative of UNHCR in Belarus, Jean Eve Bouchardy. Exactly the same figure was mentioned by Aliaksei Biahun, head of Department for Migration at the Interior Ministry of Belarus. According to him, around 160 000 Ukraine citizens entered Belarus in the course of 2014-2015. But not all of them stayed in Belarus."...they come in and out. We count only the new ones not those who have settled down,"  Aliaksei Biahun explained to Euroradio. According to Belstat, 16882 people came to live from Ukraine to Belarus. 4000 more came in 2016. This makes a total of 21 000 refugees from Ukraine.