Russian President Vladimir Putin has said families need at least three children to improve the country’s declining population. He addressed the question of the country’s birthrate while speaking to university students in Kaliningrad Region on Thursday.
“If two people produce only one, then the population decreases. Even if there are two, it remains on the horizontal bar. And in order to ensure population growth, the minimum requirement is for a family to have three children.”
Putin explained that a more educated society leads to a more difficult demographic situation, because people’s priorities change. Women who want to get an education and start a career end up having their first baby over the age of 30.
“Of course, there’s no strength and no time for a second one,” the president lamented. The Russian leader noted that starting a family is a very difficult process, especially for a woman, who needs to study and keep her professional qualifications, as well as care for a child. “So that’s why we are trying to help young families in the first place.” He added that it is important to start a family “on time” and that there is “a pragmatic interest on the part of the state.”
In 2023, 1.213 million children were born in Russia. Such a low figure has not been seen since 1999, when only 1.215 million children were born. Rosstat, the national statistics bureau, has predicted the birthrate will continue to decline until 2027.
Putin has repeatedly spoken out about the need for the government to encourage Russian families to have more children. In early 2018, the authorities launched a family mortgage program, setting the interest rate at a maximum of 6%, which is almost three times lower than the current market rate, in a bid to enable home ownership and encourage families to have more children.
More than 450,000 citizens have taken advantage of the scheme since its launch, the chief executive of DOM.RF corporation, Vitaly Mutko, told reporters in January.
Preferential mortgage programs for families with children have a positive impact on demographics, according to a study by the Russian Academy of National Economy.
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