Can Belarusian pensioners travel the world on one pension?

Publication date: 6 August 2026

Claim

Belarusian pensioners can allegedly travel around the world on their pension just as pensioners in European countries do.

Verdict

Unsupported and misleading. An average pension does not show how many pensioners can pay for international travel. Available data about their actual leisure activities also do not support a picture of widespread travel: 3.3% of retirement-age respondents in a 2023 survey by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus said they travelled.

In brief

• The official estimate for the average old-age pension after the recalculation from 1 September 2025 was 980 Belarusian rubles.

• An average is not every pensioner's income and does not reveal what remains after housing, medicine, food and transport costs.

• Published results from an Institute of Sociology survey say that 3.3% of retirement-age respondents named travel as a leisure activity.

• The survey shows how common the activity was, but does not identify the reason: money, health, personal preference or another constraint.

• A comparison with European pensioners would require comparable evidence on incomes, travel costs and the share of people who actually travel. The claim provides none.

Why this matters

Claims about wellbeing based on a single average payment offer a simple but inaccurate picture. They replace a question about access to a particular activity with one headline number and conceal differences between people. Housing, medicine, health, transport access and visa availability can all affect travel for older people. None of these factors can be inferred from the average pension alone.

What we checked

We compared:

1. the wording of the claim and the Belarusian Investigative Center's fact-check;

2. official information about the pension recalculation from 1 September 2025;

3. published findings from the Institute of Sociology survey on leisure among retirement-age people;

4. whether this evidence is sufficient to conclude that pensioners can travel around the world.

Evidence

1. The official number describes an average payment, not a travel budget

Belarus's Ministry of Labour and Social Protection reported that after a 5% increase, the average old-age pension was expected to reach 980 rubles in September 2025. The official presidential portal also confirmed that retirement pensions would be recalculated and increased by an average of 5% from 1 September.

These reports establish the amount and the recalculation. They do not calculate the cost of international travel or show how many pensioners can afford a trip after essential expenses.

2. An average conceals differences

The average pension combines different payments into one indicator. An individual's amount can be lower or higher. The same income can also provide very different travel opportunities depending on housing costs, medicine, support for relatives, health and destination.

The statement "the average pension is 980 rubles" does not logically establish that "pensioners can travel the world".

3. Behavioural data do not show widespread travel

In October 2023, the state news agency BelTA reported findings from an Institute of Sociology survey. Travel as a leisure activity was named by 3.3% of retirement-age respondents. The Belarusian Investigative Center cited this result when assessing the travel affordability claim.

The 3.3% figure does not prove that the remaining 96.7% were prevented from travelling specifically by a lack of money. It does show that the available evidence does not support a broad claim that pension-funded travel is an ordinary option for Belarusian pensioners.

4. A European comparison requires comparable indicators

A sound comparison would need data from the same period and method: the distribution of pension income, the cost of typical trips, essential household expenses, the share of pensioners who travel, and a clear definition of domestic versus international travel. The claim supplies none of these elements.

What remains unknown

• The public report about the survey does not provide the full questionnaire, sample size or breakdown by income, age and region.

• The 3.3% figure concerns reported leisure activities and does not directly measure the affordability of foreign travel.

• We found no survey comparing Belarusian and European pensioners during the same period with the same method.

• It is unclear whether the claim means any trip, an overseas holiday or regular travel through several countries.

Conclusion

Official data confirm an increase in the average pension, but they do not show that the payment normally funds travel around the world. The published survey indicates that only a small share of pensioners named travel as a leisure activity. Without a cost calculation and comparable international data, the claim remains unsupported and misleading.

Sources

1. Belarusian Investigative Center, fact-check on pensioners and travel: https://investigatebel.org/en/fakenews/belarus-pensii-puteshestviya

2. Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus, pension increase from September 2025: https://mintrud.gov.by/printv/ru/news-ru/view/o-povyshenii-pensij-s-sentjabrja-2025-g-11369-2025

3. Official Internet Portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus, pension recalculation from 1 September: https://president.gov.by/en/events/podpisan-ukaz-o-povysenii-pensij-1755244194

4. BelTA, Institute of Sociology survey findings on leisure among retirement-age people: https://belta.by/amp/society/view/v-institute-sotsiologii-uznali-kak-ljudi-pensionnogo-vozrasta-provodjat-svobodnoe-vremja-595484-2023

Corrections and updates

If the full survey report, newer evidence on pensioner expenses or comparable international statistics become available, we will update this article. Factual errors can be reported through the Unity Bridge contact channels.