A total of 73,292 children were born in Ukraine from January through June 2026, half as many as in the same period of the pre-war year of 2021.

That is according to Opendatabot, citing data from the Ministry of Justice, Ukrinform reports.

"As many as 73,292 children were born in the first half of 2026. Ukraine's birth rate continues to decline: compared with the first half of 2025, the number of newborns fell by 16%," the statement said.

Compared with the same period in 2021, the decline was nearly twofold: 133,457 children were born in the last year before the full-scale invasion.

At present, an average of about 12,000 babies are born in Ukraine each month. Ten years ago, Ukrainians were welcoming around 32,000 children into the world every month.

Boys account for a slightly larger share of births, at 51%, compared with 49% for girls.

As usual, the fewest babies are born in frontline regions – the number of births in Donetsk region has fallen threefold, while Zaporizhzhia region recorded a 23% decline. However, the number of newborns has also dropped significantly in relatively safe regions: the decline reached 20% in Vinnytsia, Lviv and Ternopil regions.

Kyiv leads the country in the number of newborns, with one in every nine babies born there (8,352). Despite the decline, Lviv region ranks second, with 6,617 births. Dnipropetrovsk region (5,611) and Odesa region (5,450) also rank among the leaders.

Meanwhile, 259,853 deaths were recorded in Ukraine in the first six months of 2026, 4% more than in the same period last year. This marks the first official increase in the number of deaths in the past five years.

The largest increase in deaths was recorded in the capital, up 11%, with a total of 20,121 deaths registered in the first half of 2026. However, the highest number of deaths was recorded in Dnipropetrovsk region, at 28,386, accounting for one in every nine deaths in Ukraine.

On average, the number of deaths is four times higher than the number of births. Last year, the ratio was one birth to three deaths.

The situation is worst in frontline regions: in Donetsk region, there is one newborn for every 19 deaths; in Kherson region, the ratio is one to 14; and in Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, it is one to six.

The most favorable situation was recorded in Rivne, Volyn and Zakarpattia regions, where there are two deaths for every newborn.

As reported, Russian authorities have documented in their official records the removal of 744,000 Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories to Russia.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine