In 2024, 495.1 thousand people died in Ukraine, while only 176.7 thousand babies were born. Data published by the publication "Word and Deed" indicate a deep demographic crisis that is only getting worse every year.
Since 2014, the country has been demonstrating a steady decline in the birth rate. If in 2014, before the war in Donbas, 465.9 thousand children were born, then in 2020 this figure decreased to 299.1 thousand, and in 2021 - to 273.8 thousand.
After the start of the full-scale war in 2022, the birth rate data does not include the temporarily occupied territories – Crimea and parts of four eastern and southern regions. Nevertheless, even without taking these regions into account, there is a clear decline: 2022 – 206 thousand newborns, 2023 – 187.4 thousand, 2024 – 176.7 thousand.
Mortality rates in Ukraine have traditionally remained high, but have been gradually decreasing since 2010. In 2017, 574.1 thousand deaths were recorded, in 2018 – 587.7 thousand, in 2019 – 581.1 thousand. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 significantly worsened the situation: in 2020, 616.8 thousand Ukrainians died, and in 2021 – a record 714.3 thousand.
After that, the mortality rate decreased again: 541.7 thousand in 2022, 496.2 thousand in 2023, and 495.1 thousand in 2024. Like the birth rate data, mortality statistics do not cover the occupied territories.
Thus, the country's demographic balance remains deeply negative, with deaths almost three times higher than births. This threatens not only Ukraine's long-term development prospects but also its ability to recover from the war.
