Country Comments

The recent war in 2022 with Russia has had a dramatic impact on the people and environment of Ukraine. As of May 2022 over 6 million citizens have fled the country and much of its Eastern regions have been in conflict. Ukraine has had below replacement fertility rates since 1970. The past two decades that rate has averaged below 1 ½ children per woman. The country’s population peaked around 1990 at 51 ½ million citizens and has since seen a steady decline annually. Excluding the war's effect, at its current rate of decline without any change in its economic activity Ukraine could become sustainable toward the end of the decade.

Much of this success has been led by a focus toward greater women’s empowerment and access to modern contraception. The Wilson Center reported that according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2020, Ukraine has closed 72 percent of the gender gap in the past three years, placing it among the top third of countries. (1)

And the Guttmacher Institute, a leading institution examining women’s reproductive rights, found ninety-three percent of women in Ukraine have their demand for contraception satisfied and 82 percent of women were able to make an informed choice about their contraceptive method as a result of the information they received from their health care providers. (2)

(1) https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/ukrainian-women-make-strides-toward-political-engagement-barriers-remain

(2) https://theglobepost.com/2019/05/05/ukraine-reproductive-rights/