“The reduction of the population in Ukraine is not a unique case. This is a global process, which in demographic science is called the ‘demographic transition’. What is unique is the situation in which Ukraine finds itself,” explains Oleksander Gladun of the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Given the often significant loss of military as well as civilian lives, war never has a positive impact on a country’s demographics.
Furthermore, Gladun continues, “mortality also rises due to worsening chronic illnesses, stress and, in some cases, the inability to receive timely medical care”.
At the same time, birth rates fall, and people are postponing the decision to have children. “It’s a natural reaction,” Gladun said.
According to data published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice and cited by the Kyiv Independent, in 2024 Ukraine recorded 495,090 deaths. This figure is nearly three times higher than the number of births.
