In 2023, more than 187 thousand newborns were born in Ukraine, which was the lowest figure since the country's independence, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine reported.
The leaders in the number of births were such regions as Kyiv (about 20 thousand), Lviv (almost 17 thousand), Dnipropetrovsk (over 14 thousand), Odesa (about 14 thousand), Kyiv (almost 11 thousand), Rivne (almost 10 thousand) and Zakarpattia (over 9 thousand) regions.
Compared to the previous year, almost 207 thousand births were recorded in Ukraine in 2022. This is a significant decline compared to previous years, in particular, in 2012, before the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, the number of newborns was 520 thousand. In 2019, before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, this figure was 309 thousand, and in 2021 – 278 thousand.
It is also worth noting that in 2023, 186 thousand marriages were registered in Ukraine, the largest number of which took place in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa regions. During the same period, only 24 thousand divorces were recorded, which is eight times less than the number of marriages concluded.
According to Svitlana Aksyonova, a senior researcher at the Institute of Demography and Quality of Life Problems of the NAS of Ukraine, the number of newborns, which amounted to 187 thousand in 2023, is a fairly positive indicator for the second year of a full-scale war.
“I expected this figure to be lower. However, it is still significantly lower than what is needed to ensure population growth,” she emphasizes.
According to the demographer, in times of war, Ukraine cannot count on the same indicators that are characteristic of a period of peace, since no region can be considered completely safe.
"The most common practice among families now is to postpone having children, waiting for a favorable period for this. This approach to the decision to have a child is really determined by the logic of a responsible attitude towards one's role as a mother or father," she explains.
Aksyonova notes that a significant number of families have begun to postpone having children during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to make the decision to have another child after the birth of their first child due to the impact of war, social and economic hardships.
Another factor leading to a decrease in the birth rate is the separation of families due to war, when the woman is abroad and the husband is in Ukraine, or vice versa, when the woman remains in Ukraine and her husband is at the front.
“The longer the war lasts, the more losses that cannot be restored. Those fertility losses that have already occurred will likely remain uncompensated in the future,” Aksyonova believes.
In her opinion, too many hopes in Ukraine are connected with the so-called compensatory effect - the idea that postponed plans to have children will lead to a sharp increase in the birth rate in the future.
“Long-term postponement can lead to families giving up on the idea of having children. Our neighbors will not disappear, and at any moment something unexpected could happen, such as a missile strike or other danger,” the demographer emphasizes.
At the same time, the number of 187,000 newborns per year may not seem very impressive, but it can serve as a ray of hope for recovery.
Svetlana Aksyonova also recommends not paying too much attention to the number of marriages.
“For many people, this document is not always considered important for being together, sometimes spontaneous decisions are made. Statistics in this regard are somewhat inconsistent and do not always require explanation, unlike fertility statistics,” she explains.
In addition, it should be taken into account that both birth statistics and marriage statistics do not take into account the situation in the occupied territories.
