Ukraine facing physical decline, risk of national extinction, expert warns

He said this in an interview with the host of the European Space program, Yuriy Fizer, on Espreso TV.

“I believe that the situation currently unfolding inside our country is catastrophic. As of today, the Ukrainian government does not control 20% of our territory. We have lost 30% of our economy. There are 4.6 million internally displaced people, and about 7 million Ukrainians are abroad,” Voskoboynyk emphasized.

According to the president of the All-Ukrainian Association of International Employment Companies, the most alarming issue is the drop in Ukraine’s fertility index, which reflects the number of children born per woman. Currently, this index stands at just 0.7 — meaning only 7 children are born for every 10 women. In order to maintain the nation at its current level, at least 22 children need to be born for every 10 women.

“This means that we are gradually disappearing physically — dying out as a nation. Last year, 170,000 children were born in Ukraine, while 490,000 people died. So every year our country loses between 250,000 and 300,000 people. And this trend is not solely a result of the war — although it has certainly worsened the situation — but overall, for the past 15 years, Ukraine’s population has been decreasing annually,” Voskoboynyk stressed.

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