Rosstat has recorded a record drop in the birth rate in Russia since 1999.
According to the agency, from January to June, 511.7 thousand children were born in the country. Compared to the same period last year, the number of births fell by 11.5 thousand, or 1.2%. At the same time, last year’s figures turned out to be the worst for more than twenty recent years.
Also, according to Rosstat, the relative birth rate from January through June of this year, 8.5 children per 1,000 people, was one of the worst in modern Russian history. The rate was lower only in 1999 – 8.3 children per 1,000 people.
The Moscow Times notes that the falling birth rate in Russia is occurring “despite the authorities’ appeals to family values” and the national project “Demography”, in which 4 trillion rubles have been invested.
In May, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that the country is “in a very difficult situation” in terms of demography.
