Russia has one of the highest divorce rates in the world, and although they have decreased slightly this year, they have remained high since the 1960s, according to the Longitudinal Prediction of Divorce in Russia: The Role of Alcohol Consumption Patterns of Individuals and Couples published by the National Library of Medicine.
This is what the media has published which highlights that high divorce rates in Russia are a major problem because they are linked to fertility rates, which have become an issue of growing concern in recent years.
In fact, politicians have been so opposed to the concept of divorce that Russian State Duma member Vitaly Milonov suggested that, as punishment, divorcees should be forced to pay a fine of 100,000 rubles (about 960 euros) or be sent to prison. perform “compulsory work” in Russia’s war with Ukraine.
According to Rosstat, Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service, the number of divorces in Russia from 2022 to 2023 remained more or less the same, with a slight increase, as last year there were 683,638 divorces and the year before that 682,883. From 2023 to 2024, there was a slight decrease in the number of divorces, since there were 532,896 divorces so far this year and 566,777 divorces last year.
According to Statista, the divorce rate in Russia peaked between 2000 and 2022, at 4.7 per 1,000 people, in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2022. Rosstat statistics also indicate that marriage rates have declined, as that the annual number of marriages fell over the last decade, from up to 1.3 million between 2006 and 2013 to only 945,000 in 2023, according to the Russian media RT News.
In addition to high divorce rates, Russia is also facing low birth rates, which has led to an overall population decline. Moscow’s current birth rate is 1.5 children per woman, but 2.1 children per woman are necessary to maintain the population. Russia hit its lowest birth rate on record in 25 years in the first six months of this year.
Putin and other government officials have been pressuring people to have more children and increase the Russian population in various ways. The government has considered opening a “sex ministry,” introduced a program to pay students ages 18 to 23 to have children, and created a council to promote policies to protect families and children. children.
