Due to Russian aggression, Ukraine has recorded its lowest birth rate ever — about 0.8–0.9 children per woman.
This was announced by First Lady Olena Zelenska during an online speech at the GROWING EUROPE 2025 International Summit in Vilnius.
Zelenska stressed that the birth rate in Ukraine has fallen to a historic low precisely because of the lack of security, which significantly affects the decision to have children.
“According to UN forecasts, women around the world will give birth less and less. By the end of the century, most families will have only one child. In European Union countries, the birth rate is only 1.5. In Ukraine, due to the Russian invasion, this figure is the lowest in history – about 0.8–0.9 according to various estimates. The feeling of security has the greatest impact on the decision to give new life,” Zelenska said.
According to her, the number of premature births in Ukraine has increased due to the stress of war that women are experiencing.
“My colleagues at the Summit remember well how, at the beginning of the invasion, we had to bring in incubators for such babies on a massive scale,” the first lady recalled.
According to Zelenska, Ukraine is strengthening social support for children and families. Such projects include assistance to large foster families, the construction of bomb shelters in schools, the renovation of food service facilities, and Ukraine’s accession to the European Child Guarantee initiative on children’s access to education, medical care, housing, and nutrition.