Published: September 10, 2024 2:23 pm
Author: RT
The number of babies born in January-June 2024 was down by 16,600 in annual terms, according to Rosstat
Russia recorded a historic minimum birth rate in the first six months of this year, with the number of babies born having declined by 16,600 in annual terms, according to data published on Monday by the state statistics agency Rosstat. Such a low was last recorded in the wake of the 1998 financial crisis in the country.
According to the report, only 599,600 children were born in Russia in the period January to July of this year, down from the 616,200 during the same period in 2023.
The data showed that in June 2024, the birth rate in the country plunged to a record low of just 98,600 births.
Natural population decline in the country has also intensified, according to Rosstat. The figure rose by 49,000 in the first half of this year to 321,500 people.
Overall, only 1.26 million babies were born in Russia in 2023, compared with 1.3 million in 2022, and 1.4 million babies in 2021, according to Rosstat.
Russia is facing a “terrible” demographic crisis which could result in an acute labor shortage of up to 2.4 million workers by 2030, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko warned in June.
During an address to the Federal Assembly in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “a large family with many children should become the norm, the philosophy of social life, the guideline of the entire strategy of the state.” Over the next six years, the population should achieve a sustainable increase in its birth rate, the president said.
READ MORE: Russian fertility rate ‘catastrophically low’ – Kremlin
The Russian leadership has introduced a raft of relevant financial and social measures in recent months to support families with children.
Russian lawmakers have also prepared a draft bill that would ban child-free ideology in the country, according to Deputy Justice Minister Vsevolod Vukolov.
