Russia’s birth rate to hit 30-year low in 2024 – demographer

The number of newborns has decreased by 3% compared to last year, according to Russian Academy of Sciences data

Russia’s birth rate this year is expected to be the lowest in three decades, according to a demographics specialist at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Vadim Bezverbny called for a “systemic approach” to resolving the problem in an interview with the Eurasian News Agency published on Tuesday.

The outlook remains largely pessimistic as the population could decline by 6.2 million people by 2050, he said, citing various estimates.

“We have the statistics for January to October. Honestly, we are close to record low for birth rates. There is a likelihood that 2024 will end with the lowest figure in the last 30 years. Compared to last year, the birth rate has decreased by 3%,” the specialist said.

Bezverbny called for what he described as a “systemic approach” to demographic policy that should include measures to provide young families with affordable housing, increased social benefits for families with children and opportunities for women who gave birth to many children to go into retirement earlier.

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With the right set of policies, Russia could get its population back to the level of 145 million by 2100 after a potentially inevitable decline in the coming years, Bezverbny stated.

According to Russia’s state statistics agency, Rosstat, the nation’s population at the beginning of this year was just above 146 million.

The World Health Organization puts Russia’s population at just over 145 million and projects it to fall by almost 10 million to 136.1 million by 2050.

Last month, the Kremlin raised the alarm over Russia’s shrinking population, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling the demographic decline a “huge challenge” for the nation. President Vladimir Putin also said last week that it was “an extremely important matter” and one of the “key issues for Russia.”

The president pointed out, however, that Russia is not the only country facing such issues. Norway’s figures roughly match those of Russia, while Finland, Spain, Japan, and South Korea all have even lower birth rates.