Key points
- Mortality in Ukraine is four times higher than birth rate – in the first half of 2026, 259,853 deaths and 73,292 births were recorded.
- Mortality has increased by 4% – this is the first increase in five years.
- Birth rate has fallen by 16% over the year and by half compared to the pre-war period.
- The largest decline in birth rate is in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
- The leaders in birth rate are Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions.
- The worst ratio of birth rate to mortality is in Donetsk and Kherson regions.
In Ukraine, in the first half of 2026, 259,853 deaths and only 73,292 births were recorded – mortality is four times higher than birth rate, according to data from Opendatabot.
The number of deaths has increased by 4% compared to the same period last year – this is the first official increase in mortality in the last five years. Last year, the ratio of birth rate to mortality was one to three, now it is one to four.
Birth rate continues to decline: 16% fewer children were born than in the first half of 2025.
Compared to the pre-war period, the decline has reached 50%. Now, about 12,000 children are born in Ukraine every month, while ten years ago this figure was 32,000.
The largest decline in birth rate is in the frontline territories: in Donetsk region, the number of newborns has decreased threefold, and in Zaporizhzhia region, it has decreased by 23%. A significant decrease was also recorded in safer regions – in Vinnytsia, Lviv, and Ternopil regions, the indicator decreased by 20%.
Kyiv is the leader in terms of the number of newborns, with every ninth child in Ukraine born there – 8,352 children. The following regions are also among the leaders:
- Lviv region – 6,617 children;
- Dnipropetrovsk region – 5,611;
- Odesa region – 5,450.
The largest increase in mortality was recorded in the capital – by 11%, to 20,121 cases. The largest absolute number of deaths is traditionally recorded in Dnipropetrovsk region – 28,386, which is every ninth death in Ukraine.
The worst ratio of birth rate to mortality is in the frontline regions:
- in Donetsk region, there are 19 deaths per one newborn;
- in Kherson region – 14;
- in Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions – six each.
The best demographic situation is in Rivne, Volyn, and Zakarpattia regions, where there are two deaths per one newborn.
Read also:
The ‘White Angel’ has saved more than 38,000 people since the start of the full-scale war
