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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Sullivan

Ukraine’s birth rate plummets in aftermath of Russian invasion, data shows

A woman breastfeeds her baby inside a subway station during an air raid alert in Kyiv, Ukraine, 26 July 2023.
A woman breastfeeds her baby inside a subway station during an air raid alert in Kyiv, Ukraine, 26 July 2023. Photograph: Alina Smutko/Reuters

Ukraine’s birthrate has fallen by 28% since the start of the war, according to new data, with 38,324 fewer babies born in the country in the first six months of this year compared with 2021, before Russia invaded.

While birthrates have been declining by 7% per yer since 2015, according to Ukrainian data analytics company OpenDataBot, the drop from 2021 to 2023 is the largest since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. The next steepest drop was in 2015, in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

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