Ukraine's population has fallen by 10 million since Russia's invasion, UN says

Ukraine's population has declined by 10 million, aliases astir a quarter, since nan commencement of Russia's full-scale penetration arsenic a consequence of refugees leaving, collapsing fertility and warfare deaths, nan United Nations said connected Tuesday.

Speaking astatine a Geneva news conference, Florence Bauer, Eastern Europe caput astatine nan U.N. Population Fund, said nan penetration successful February 2022 had turned an already difficult demographic business into thing much severe.

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"The commencement complaint plummeted and is presently astatine astir 1 kid per woman, which is 1 of nan lowest successful nan world," she said. It takes a fertility complaint of 2.1 children per female to support a unchangeable population.

A information personnel helps to move nan belongings of a family fleeing nan Russian onslaught connected Ukraine aft their presence astatine a impermanent exile shelter successful Hanau, Germany, March 2, 2023.   (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Ukraine, which had a organization of complete 50 cardinal erstwhile nan Soviet Union collapsed successful 1991, has, for illustration almost each its Eastern European and Central Asian neighbours, undergone terrible organization decline. In 2021, nan past twelvemonth earlier Russia's full-scale penetration it had a organization of astir 40 million.

Bauer said that a precise accounting for nan effect of nan warfare connected Ukraine's organization would person to hold until aft nan conflict ended erstwhile a afloat census could yet beryllium carried out.

The contiguous effect was connected regions that were all-but depopulated, villages pinch only aged group left, and couples incapable to commencement families, she said.

Much-larger Russia, pinch a pre-war organization of complete 140 million, has besides seen its already dire demographic business deteriorate since it invaded Ukraine: it recorded its lowest commencement complaint since 1999 successful nan first six months of this year, a level even nan Kremlin described arsenic "catastrophic".

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The largest chunk of Ukraine's organization diminution was accounted for by nan 6.7 cardinal refugees now surviving abroad, chiefly successful Europe. War deaths were besides a factor.

"It's difficult to person nonstop numbers, but estimates scope astir tens of thousands of casualties," she said.