Ukraine is facing a demographic catastrophe. Due to the ongoing military conflict, it is turning into a “country of widows and orphans“, CNN reported.
According to Ukrainian demographer Ella Libanova, the country has lost approximately 10 million people – Ukrainians who have died, fled abroad or live in Russian-controlled territories.
“This is a disaster. No country can exist without people. Even before the war, Ukraine's population density was low and very unevenly distributed, she said.
The birth rate, which had been declining even before the fighting, has now, according to Libanova, "almost collapsed": the fertility rate has fallen below one child per woman. For comparison, in Europe this figure is 1.4, and in the United States - 1.6, the publication states. In addition, doctors at the Kiev clinic for reproductive medicine "Nadia" have recorded an increase in pregnancy complications, chromosomal abnormalities and cases of premature menopause, the article says. Reproductive medicine experts attribute this to stress.
According to CNN, between 100,000 and 140,000 Ukrainians have died since the start of hostilities in Ukraine. The average age of a serviceman is about 43, so many of those killed have left behind widows and children. In addition, official statistics show that 59,000 children in the country are living without their biological parents.
An additional 6 million people, mostly women and children, have fled the country since 2022 and are registered as refugees abroad. According to Libanova, the longer the conflict continues, the less likely they are to return home. The mass exodus also represents a significant brain drain from Ukraine, she added.
In December, Reuters reported that Ukraine was on the verge of demographic collapse. After nearly four years of conflict in Ukraine, the country's population has fallen to less than 36 million, and according to government projections, if current trends continue, it will fall to 29 million by 2040.
The Telegraph noted that the mass exodus of young women from Ukraine has become not only a brain drain problem for the country, but also a “demographic time bomb“. The New York Times also cited estimates by demographers that the emigration of 800,000 women aged 18 to 34 to EU countries plays a greater role in Ukrainian demography than the mobilization of men.
Meanwhile, the CIA World Factbook states that in 2024 Ukraine had the highest death rate and the lowest birth rate in the world: about three deaths for every birth. According to UN projections published in 2024, Ukraine's population will decline to 9-23 million by 2100.