Ukraine set an anti-record in terms of the nation’s average birth rate, which today stands at 0.9, according to Ukrinform.

This was stated by First Deputy Minister of Social Policy Daria Marchak, who spoke at the conference "Demographic Future of Ukraine: Strategy of Resilience and Recovery. Civil Society Vision", an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Today we’re seeing an anti-record as for the number of children born per woman. The international population reproduction rate is 2.2 children per woman of childbearing age. The average for EU countries is 1.5. These are EU countries with a difficult demographic situation. In Ukraine, before the start of the full-scale invasion, it was 1.16, and after, it’s 0.9. According to some estimates, this is a record low in the entire history of our country," Marchak said.

She also noted that low birth rates, together with large-scale external migration, as a result of which mostly elderly people remain in the government-controlled territory, have led to the rapid aging of the country's population. In just the last few years, the average age of Ukrainians has increased from 41 to 45.

"We are getting older very quickly as a nation, and it still looks like this trend will prevail. Today, the ratio of pensioners to working-age population is 1:1, and this is without taking into account those who receive social assistance. When you and I reach our retirement age, this ratio will probably be much lower," the deputy minister added.

According to the official, one of the main tasks of the "Strategy of Demographic Development of Ukraine" should be to create opportunities for the population to remain economically and physically independent for as long as possible.

"Today, we must take care that we approach ‘old age’ as late as possible. We are working on this together with the Ministry of Health. We must take care to ensure a decent standard of living in the senior age, so the pension reform is extremely relevant. We must also develop the care economy," said Marchak.

In her opinion, in Ukraine, following the example of developed nations, it is worth developing a system of providers of care services for the elderly – market providers who will relieve families of the obligation to support their elderly members.

As reported, last year the Cabinet approved the