Russia and Ukraine Statistics
In this essay, I will review some demographic and economic statistics that are relevant to the war in Ukraine. I will not say much about the war itself. Both Russia and Ukraine are in a demographic decline. Both have had below-replacement fertility for a long time. Both have shrinking populations with a high median age. In 1900, the Russian fertility rate was over 7 children per woman. That was during a time of high child mortality, and almost no birth control. In 1920, the fertility rate was still very high: about 6.5. In 1930, it was still roughly 6. Child mortality rates started declining around 1910, and by 1930 the population was growing rapidly, due to a combination of high fertility and lower child mortality (although still high by modern standards). At this time, Ukraine was part of Russia. There was a famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933, which killed millions of people. This is normally blamed on the Bolshevik government for its mismanagement of the economy and its confiscation