Demographers named the three threats that are reducing Ukraine’s population.

In particular, a sharp drop in the birth rate, excessive premature mortality, especially among men of working age, and the departure of citizens abroad are listed as primary factors. As for the numbers, this year there are 31.6 million people in the territory controlled by Ukraine and 37.6 million within 1991’s borders, said Ella Libanova, director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research.

According to her, families with at least two children should be promoted in Ukraine. But more urgent is the need to reduce Ukraine’s staggering premature mortality rate. After all, 42% of 20-year-old Ukrainian youths (according to data from before the full-scale invasion) do not live to be 65 years old. This is 11.5 years less than the life expectancy of the average male in the EU.

A study by the University of St. Andrews in Scotland predicts that, under the worst-case scenario, Ukraine will have only 28 million people after the war, and the number of working-age adults and children will drop by 36% and 56%, respectively. As for refugees, demographers expect a third of them to return.