Ukraine’s population has fallen by 10 million since the Russian invasion, UN says

Ukraine’s population has fallen by 10 million, or about a quarter, since Russia’s large-scale invasion began due to refugee flows, plummeting fertility and war deaths, the United Nations said on Tuesday (UN).

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Florence Bauer, head of the United Nations Population Fund for Eastern Europe, said the February 2022 invasion turned an already difficult demographic situation into something more serious.

“The birth rate has collapsed and is currently around one child per woman, one of the lowest in the world,” he said. To maintain a stable population, a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed.

Ukraine, which had a population of more than 50 million when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, has, like nearly all of its neighbors in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, experienced severe population decline. In 2021, the last year before Russia’s full-scale invasion, the population was around 40 million.

Bauer said that an accurate account of the impact of the war on the Ukrainian population would have to wait until the end of the conflict, when a full census could finally be carried out.

The immediate impact was had in virtually depopulated regions, villages where only the elderly remained and couples unable to start a family, he said.

Even the much larger Russia, with a pre-war population of more than 140 million, has seen its already dire demographic situation deteriorate since it invaded Ukraine: it recorded its lowest birth rate since 1999 in the first six months this year, a level that even the Kremlin called “catastrophic.”

Most of Ukraine’s population decline has been caused by the 6.7 million refugees now living abroad, mostly in Europe. Deaths in the war were also a factor.

“It’s difficult to have exact numbers, but estimates are tens of thousands of victims,” he said.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.