UNFPA: 95% of childless people in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, actually want children
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 95% of childless people are not so by choice: they want children but cannot have them or do not dare to conceive for a range of reasons.
Source: the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), citing its findings at the Leading Change demographic conference in Skopje, North Macedonia
Details: UNFPA will publish the full results of the study, based on a survey in 73 countries, in July.
Researchers surveyed respondents aged 18-39 in 73 countries, including Ukraine. They also compared data from 11 countries in the EECA region, which includes Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with data from 11 other countries.
The study found that people in the region to which Ukraine belongs have fewer children than they actually want. The ideal number of children for residents of the region is 2 or more.
In countries with low fertility, the ideal fertility rate is 2.58 for women and 2.86 for men, where as in high-fertility countries it is 3.6 for everyone.
The fertility gap, meaning the difference between the desired and actual number of children, persists across Eastern Europe and Central Asia for both women and men. The figure stands at 1.91 for men and 1.25 for women.
The main reasons for childlessness include health problems, financial difficulties and the lack of a reliable partner. The first two issues are of greater concern for women, while the third applies more to men.
Other barriers on the list include:
- lack of housing
- concerns about health problems linked to pregnancy and childbirth
- insufficient involvement of a partner in housework or childcare
- instability in a specific region or the world
- already having the desired number of children
- unrealistic expectations of successful parenthood
- a partner not wanting children
- too much responsibility for caring for one's own parents or other people
- climate change and concern about the state of the environment.
A total of 60% of young people in the EECA region are positive about their future, but they are worried by three key factors: wars, unemployment and the economic crisis, with women being the most concerned. And 45% of respondents recognise that an ageing population is a cause for concern.
In Eastern Europe, a combination of factors including low birth rates and emigration has led to a significant decline in population. All of the 11 countries with the world's fastest-shrinking populations are located in Eastern and Central Europe.
Central Asian countries, meanwhile, continue to have high birth rates and rapid population growth. The region's working-age population is expected to grow from 50 million to 71 million by 2050.
The largest population increase has been recorded in Tajikistan: the country continues to have a consistently high birth rate, which offsets the losses resulting from significant labour migration..
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