Abstract
Based on an analysis of data of United Nations and official statistics outputs, the article identifies the main trends in human development in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. It is concluded that the Republic of Belarus managed to achieve more significant results in the field of humanitarian development, which is confirmed by the data of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation. The higher position of the Russian Federation in the ranking of countries according to the United Nations Human Development Index is explained by the larger gross domestic product per capita. However, the values of such indicators of human development as life expectancy at birth, as well as adult literacy rate and enrollment in the population aged 7-24 education, indicate more significant progress in this area in recent years in the Republic of Belarus. For the Russian Federation and other countries - members of the Eurasian Economic Union the experience of the Republic of Belarus in organizing health care and education, as well as reducing inequality in income, can be useful in solving the problems of humanitarian development.