Births in Belarus have Declined by 50 Percent since 2016, Putting It on Track to See Its Population Halved by 2100

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 4 – Many have observed that uncertainties brought on by Putin’s war in Ukraine have led to declines in the birthrate in both the countries most immediately involved. But it a striking development, the number of births in Belarus, a country not at war with a foreign state, have declined by 50 percent since 2016.

            That development, one that parallels what has happened in Ukraine, puts Belarus on track to see its population fall by 50 percent by 2100, and is the product both of the rapid urbanization of the Belarusian population and the repressive policies of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the uncertainties he has produced (bgmedia.site/society/rozhenic-vezut-iz-hoynikov-v-rechicu-iz-vileyki-v-molodechno-po-vsey-belarusi-zakryivayutsya-roddomyi/).

            These figures have come to light as Minsk has been forced to close maternity hospitals across the country as a result of declines in the number of babies being born. In 2016, 117,000 babies were born there; last year, officials report, there were just under 59,000, a devastating decline.