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The Death of Ukraine | RTÉ Radio 1 Extra

Wednesday 1st July 2015 at 8am – The Death of Ukraine

David Stern examines the causes and consequences of a demographic crisis in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s population once stood at over 50 million – but it has fallen sharply and some projections put it at only 32 million by 2050. Few, if any, countries have gone through such precipitous population loss.

David Stern travels across the country to meet the young women who are reluctant to have more than one child, because of the expense of child-rearing amid economic uncertainty. He hears how poor healthcare mean that Ukrainian men live on average 10 years less than women. And, in the capital Kiev, he meets the young people, dispirited by the war in the East, who see their future with the 2 to 3 million Ukrainians who have already emigrated. Despite some signs of hope – including the return of some young Ukrainians inspired by the Maidan Square demonstrations – there are few grounds for optimism. Will demography, rather than war, mean the death of Ukraine?

Produced by the BBC World Service