The United Nations (UN) has raised concerns over the devastating impact of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, revealing a sharp decline in Ukraine’s population since the conflict began.
On Tuesday, the UN reported that Ukraine has lost around 10 million people, or about 25% of its total population, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. This sharp decline is attributed to the mass exodus of refugees, a drop in birth rates, and war-related fatalities.
During a news conference in Geneva, Florence Bauer, the Eastern Europe director at the UN Population Fund, highlighted that the invasion worsened Ukraine’s already fragile demographic situation, according to a report from Reuters.
Bauer remarked, “The birth rate has fallen to around one child per woman, placing Ukraine among the countries with the lowest birth rates in the world.”
Ukraine’s population had been steadily shrinking even before the war. After the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, the country had a population exceeding 50 million. However, by 2021, prior to the invasion, this figure had dropped to about 40 million.
Bauer also emphasized that a complete evaluation of the war’s demographic impact will only be possible once the conflict ends and an official census can be conducted. She noted, “The immediate effects of the war are visible, with many areas left nearly deserted, especially villages now populated primarily by the elderly. Young couples are finding it difficult to start families.”
The UN further noted that a significant portion of the population decline is due to the 6.7 million Ukrainians who have fled the country, mainly seeking refuge in Europe. Additionally, casualties from the ongoing conflict have contributed to the loss, though the exact number of war-related deaths remains unclear, with estimates possibly reaching the tens of thousands.
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