Russian fertility rate ‘catastrophically low’ – Kremlin

Women who have three or more children are “heroes,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Russia’s fertility rate is “catastrophically low” and is a threat to the country’s future, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently addressed the demographics issue in a decree on national development goals.   

The current total fertility rate in Russia is at a “terribly” low level of 1.4, according to Peskov, making it similar to levels recorded elsewhere in Europe and in Japan.

“We live in the biggest country in the world, but there are fewer of us every year. The trend can only be reversed by raising the fertility rate,” Peskov said at a media forum near Moscow.

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The current rate is “catastrophic” for the nation’s future, he added. Peskov described women who have three or more children as “heroes” in the same way as military veterans or scientists who invent cures for deadly diseases.

In May, Putin signed a decree on the country’s development goals through 2030, one of which is to increase the fertility rate to 1.6 by 2030 and to 1.8 by 2036.

The decree aims to “ensure sustainable economic and social development” of Russia, increase its population and improve the living standards of citizens.

According to official statistics, the 2023 fertility rate of 1.41 was the lowest in Russia in 17 years. The highest ever recorded rate of 1.78 came in 2015.

Just over 1.2 million babies were born in Russia last year, the lowest figure since 1999, official statistics showed.

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