Mortality is four times higher than birth rate in Ukraine

In the first 6 months of 2026, 73 292 children were born in Ukraine, while 259 853 people died. Thus, the mortality rate is almost four times higher than the birth rate.

This was reported by the monitoring service "Opendatabot" with reference to data from the Ministry of Justice.

Compared to the same period in 2025, the number of newborns decreased by 16%. If we compare it with the first half of 2021 (the last before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion), the birth rate almost halved: then 133 457 children were born in six months.

Currently, an average of about 12 000 children are born in Ukraine each month. However, ten years ago, this figure was about 32 000. Boys are traditionally born slightly more often than girls — 51% versus 49%.

The largest number of newborns was registered in Kyiv — 8 352. Next are Lviv region (6 617 children), Dnipropetrovsk region (5 611) and Odesa region (5 450). In Rivne, Volyn and Transcarpathian regions, there are two deaths per newborn.

In the Donetsk region, the number of newborns has decreased threefold compared to the pre-war period — there are 19 deaths per newborn, in Kherson — 14, and in Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions — six.

In the first six months of the year, Ukraine also registered 259 853 deaths, a 4% increase over the same period last year. The highest number of deaths was recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk region, with 28 386.

• During the first half of 2024, 87 655 children were born in Ukraine, and 250 972 people died. The largest number of both newborns and deaths was in Dnipropetrovsk region and Kyiv. Also in 2024, Ukraine ranked first in the world in terms of mortality and at the same time last in the birth rate ranking.

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