In Ukraine, the death rate is four times higher than the birth rate — OpenDataBot
In the first half of 2026, 73,292 children were born in Ukraine, while the number of deaths reached 259,853. Thus, the death rate is currently four times higher than the birth rate.
According to analysts, compared to the same period in 2025, the number of newborns decreased by 16%. When compared to the first half of 2021, the figure has nearly halved—at that time, 133,457 children were born over six months.
Currently, an average of about 12,000 children are born each month in Ukraine. By comparison, ten years ago this figure was approximately 32,000 per month. Boys account for 51% of all newborns, and girls for 49%.
The sharpest decline in the birth rate was recorded in regions near the front lines. Specifically, in the Donetsk region, the number of newborns fell by two-thirds, and in the Zaporizhzhia region, by 23%. At the same time, a decline is also observed in relatively safe regions: in Vinnytsia, Lviv, and Ternopil regions, it reached 20%.
The highest number of births in the first half of the year was recorded in Kyiv—8,352. This was followed by Lviv Oblast (6,617), Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (5,611), and Odesa Oblast (5,450).
At the same time, 259,853 deaths were recorded in Ukraine during the first six months of 2026—a 4% increase compared to the same period last year. According to OpenDataBot, this marks the first official rise in mortality rates in the past five years.
The highest number of deaths was recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk region—28,386 cases—while in Kyiv, this figure rose by 11% to 20,121 cases.
The worst ratio of births to deaths is observed in regions near the front lines. In the Donetsk region, there are 19 deaths for every newborn; in the Kherson region, 14; and in the Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions, six.
According to the study, the best demographic situation remains in Rivne, Volyn, and Zakarpattia regions, where there are two deaths for every newborn.
This was reported by OpenDataBot, citing data from the Ministry of Justice.
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