Ukraine's population may decrease to 25.2 million by 2051
Grim demographic trends in Ukraine suggest that the country’s population could drop to 25.2 million by 2051, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Dec. 3.
Brought on largely by the Russian invasion, the demographic decline has already reduced the Ukrainian population to 35.8 million in 2024, down from 42 million in 2022.
To prevent a demographic crisis, Lubinets proposed allocating state funding for cryogenic preservation of the reproductive cells of Ukrainian defenders. These proposals have been included in the 2025 state budget.
“In 2024, for the first time under the medical guarantee program, we introduced infertility treatments using assisted reproductive technologies,” the ombudsman added.
“We signed 20 agreements with medical facilities, benefiting 1,080 people. The program received UAH 106.5 million [$2.5 million] in funding.”
He added that the Ukrainian public should be better informed about access to these medical fertility programs.
“The issue of reproductive health and the preservation of the Ukrainian gene pool is critically important and should be a priority for state policy,” Lubinets stated.
On Oct. 2, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a demographic development strategy for the country up to 2040.
The strategy has been prompted by factors such as war, low birth rates, migration, high premature mortality rates, and labor market imbalance.
The document notes that according to the 2001 national census, Ukraine's population was 48.5 million at the time. By July 2024, the population was estimated at 35.8 million, with 31.1 million living in areas controlled by the government.
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