Kiev: The war between Russia and Ukraine continues. Many people have died in this war so far. Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Tuesday that Ukraine's population has decreased by 10 million or almost a quarter since Russia's invasion, due to the exodus of refugees, decline in fertility and deaths in the war.

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Florence Bauer, Eastern Europe chief at the United Nations Population Fund, said the offensive in February 2022 had made an already difficult demographic situation even more severe.

Ukraine's population is declining

"The birth rate has declined substantially and currently stands at about one child per woman, one of the lowest in the world. A fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to maintain a stable population," he said.

Ukraine had a population of over 50 million when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but like almost all of its Eastern European and Central Asian neighbors, its population has declined drastically. In 2021, the last year before Russia's full-scale invasion, its population was around 40 million.

Bauer said the impact of the war on Ukraine's population will only be accurately assessed after the conflict ends, when a full census can be carried out.

He said the immediate impact was on areas that were almost completely depopulated, villages where only older people survived, and couples who were unable to start families.

refugees living abroad

The demographic situation in Russia, a much larger country with a pre-war population of over 140 million, has also worsened since the invasion of Ukraine: in the first six months of this year it has recorded the lowest birth rate since 1999, which the Kremlin has also described as catastrophic.

The biggest reason for Ukraine's population decline is the 6.7 million refugees now living abroad, mainly in Europe. War deaths were also a factor.

It is difficult to give the exact number, he said, but estimates put the number of casualties in the tens of thousands.