To avoid population decline: scientists calculated how many children should be born by Ukrainian women

Newborn baby, photo from open sources

Oleksandr Hladu, deputy director of the Institute of Demography, said that in order to maintain a stable population of Ukraine, 100 women should give birth to 220 children during their lifetime. However, according to data for 2023, this indicator is currently much lower — 92-98 children per 100 women.

He announced this in the telethon Edyni Novyny.

«The birth rate depends very much on the sex and age structure of the population, especially women of reproductive age. Ukraine is a country with an older population structure, which is why our birth rate is lower,» Oleksandr Hladu explained.

He added that the birth rate is much higher in countries with a younger demographic structure. Such countries have different reproductive behavior, which affects the higher birth rates in the calculation of the total population.

«Nevertheless, regarding the birth rate, one can hardly agree with the CIA (US Central Intelligence Agency, — note) that it is the lowest in the world in Ukraine. The fact is that a more objective indicator is the so-called total fertility rate, that is, how many children are born by one woman or 100 women during their lifetime. And, for example, according to the estimates of the United Nations and according to our estimates, in 2023, 100 Ukrainian women gave birth to an average of 92-98 children. «In order for the population not to decrease due to natural factors, it is necessary for 100 women to give birth to 210-220 children,» he said.

We will remind you that in the first half of the year, 2,278 children were born in the Mykolaiv region, while 8,156 deaths were recorded.