Methodological approach to assessing the level of demographic security in the Republic of Belarus

The problem of demographic security is becoming increasingly relevant in the modern world, and the Republic of Belarus is not an exception. Negative demographic trends and threats can have serious consequences for the development of the country and society as a whole, so it is necessary to strengthen research in the field of demographic security and develop new methodological approaches for its quantitative assessment. In the context of significant regional differentiation, there is a need for such assessments at the level of oblasts and even districts. The aim of the study is to substantiate the methodological approach to the assessment of demographic security and its testing on the regions of the Republic of Belarus in comparison with the border regions of Russia. The article proposes the author’s methodology for calculating the demographic security index, which allows us to assess the degree of demographic security not only for the country as a whole, but also in the regional context. This approach helps to identify specific problems and threats faced by different regions of Belarus. The testing of the methodology proved that the border regions of Belarus have a more favorable demographic situation than the border regions of Russia in terms of demographic security. Nevertheless, there are certain demographic threats in each region (depopulation, population decline, disproportionality of the sex composition of the population, etc.). Addressing demographic threats and risks is a task for states, businesses, church and society. Integration associations and interstate unions play an important role in ensuring demographic security. Combining the efforts of all stakeholders will strengthen the socio-economic basis and mental foundations of demographic processes. The authors used general scientific methods (comparison, generalization, analysis, etc.) when writing the work. The application of a new methodological approach to assessing demographic security has important scientific and practical significance. Scientific novelty lies in the structuring theoretical information on the issues of demographic security assessment and the development of a specific methodology for its quantitative evaluation. This makes it possible to obtain more accurate and substantiated data on the demographic situation in the country and its regions. In addition, the methodology allows comparing the regions within a country and the regions of one country with those of another, as well as the countries with each other and over time. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the author’s methodology in the development and implementation of measures to ensure demographic security.