UNFPA: Ukraine's Population Declined By Estimated 10M Since '14
Date
10/22/2024 3:06:00 PM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
GENEVA, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Tuesday said Ukraine's population has declined by an estimated 10 million since 2014, noting the situation "got worse" after Russia's war began.
UNFPA regional director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Florence Bauer said in a press conference in Geneva that eight million of the total have declined since the beginning of the Moscow-Kyiv war in 2022.
She underlined that also since 2022, the birth rate plummeted to one child per woman, "the lowest fertility rate in Europe and one of the lowest in the world," adding that this sharp decrease is largely attributed to the combination of a drastically-reduced birth rate mass displacement and war-related casualties.
Bauer noted that even before the war, Ukraine was struggling with major demographic challenges, including one of Europe's lowest birth rates, an aging population and a steady population decline.
Meanwhile, millions of people have been internally-displaced and some 6.7 million externally as refugees, she noted.
Some regions have been depopulated, the regional director said, stressing that a significant number of people have died as a direct result of the war.
"This also presents a huge loss in human capital - human capital that is urgently needed for recovery and for building Ukraine's future," Bauer said.
"To effectively plan for Ukraine's recovery, a population census is urgently needed, once security allows," she said, noting that the last census was conducted in 2001, making updated demographic data "critical". (end)
imk
MENAFN22102024000071011013ID1108807710
.jpg)
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.