Ukraine has entered the top three countries with the lowest birth rates in the world

So few children have been born in Ukraine as of now that it hasn’t happened for at least the past three centuries.

This is reported by the publication Texty.org, analyzing the draft of the Demographic Development Strategy of Ukraine prepared by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

In 2023, 187,000 children were born in Ukraine. However, even in 1719, when the population within modern borders was estimated at only 5.7 million, the number of births was estimated to be around 280,000 people.

The Strategy text indicates that the birth rate coefficient in 2021 was 1.16. During the war, it dropped below 1%. According to the publication’s estimate, this is 0.8-0.9%.

This is not only below the natural reproduction rate (2.1–2.2), but also significantly lower than the local maximum in Ukraine in 2012 (1.53).

With the current rate, Ukraine is one of the three countries with the lowest birth rates in the world – right after South Korea (0.72) and Hong Kong (0.77).

It’s worth noting that Ukraine could become the country with the lowest birth rate in the world. Earlier reports indicated that the birth rate in Ukraine reached a record low level since 1991.