Infographic “RG” / Rafael Zaripov
unexpected trend
In Transbaikalia, the number of third and subsequent births increased from 27.8 percent in 2018 to 35 in 2022. By the end of 2022, there were 23,145 families with three or more children. The authorities in the region announced that there has been a constant trend towards large families.
– We are implementing a whole range of support measures: these are benefits, benefits, compensation and much more. Every year the size of the capital increases and the possibilities of its use expand. Starting in 2023, a one-time allowance for low-income families will be introduced for children under 17, as well as for pregnant women who registered early, said Dmitry Semyonov, head of the regional Ministry of Social Protection.
Within the framework of the national Demography project, payments in the region are granted in the order of appearance of the child. In connection with the birth or adoption of the first child, 17,236 rubles are transferred monthly until the child reaches the age of three, a similar payment is due at the birth of a third or subsequent children. It is true that only families that meet certain need criteria are entitled to all of this.
In addition, the people of Transbaikalia receive support measures from the “Far East”. This is a one-time payment in the amount of 34,472 rubles for the birth of the first child and 207,943 rubles of regional maternity capital for the second child. For low-income families, there are also monthly payments for children ages three to seven and ages eight to 17. The amount of the allowance can reach 17 thousand rubles.
almost leaders
A similar trend has emerged in other regions of the Far East. In general, according to Rosstat, the Far Eastern Federal District is one of the “largest” macro-regions of the country. There is a relative indicator such as “the total birth rate of the third and subsequent children (number of children per woman)”. According to him, the North Caucasian Federal District confidently leads in Russia. And in second place is the Far Eastern Federal District. The main contribution is made by Yakutia and Buryatia. The figures showing these regions are quite comparable with those of the North Caucasus. The indicators of the rest of the Far Eastern regions, if they lag behind the Russian average, are not much, and in general they tend to grow. The only exception is the Amur region. However, if the relative data says that the Amur region has “froze” at about the same level, then the absolute data shows an increase in the number of families with a large number of children – from 9269 in 2019 to 10122 in 2022. .
– Of course, the social policy of the region contributed to the increase in the number of large families, – Natalya Tretyakova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Amur region, is sure.
a million for a mortgage
It is difficult to list all the support measures. In addition, new ones are constantly being developed, for example, in Kamchatka, families with many children can take advantage of social tours, go on excursions to volcanoes. There are also measures that are really financially expensive for the budget. For example, now in the Primorsky Territory, at the birth of a third and subsequent children, parents can reduce the amount of a mortgage loan by one million rubles. This is a pilot project, those who have a third child from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025 are entitled to receive compensation.
– Stimulating the birth of third children is the most effective state demographic measure, – explains the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, Alexei Chekunkov. – There are confirmations of this in Russia and abroad. For example, in Spain, with the introduction of a payment of 2.5 thousand euros, the third child in families began to appear 8.8 percent more, while the increase in first births was only 0.4 percent. That is, the effectiveness of stimulating the appearance of third children was 22 times greater.
boom echoes
Yury Berezutsky, candidate of sociological sciences, deputy director of scientific and educational work at the Far Eastern Institute of Management, a branch of RANEPA, also notes this bet of the State on third children. He believes that despite some positive trends associated with government policy, the migration losses of the population from the Far East remain high. And this, added to a high migratory sentiment, especially among young people.
In terms of the total birth rate of the third and subsequent children in Russia, the North Caucasian Federal District confidently leads. And secondly – DFO
– A slight increase in the births of the third and subsequent children in recent years is accompanied by a decrease in the number of births of the first and second, – says Yuri Berezutsky. – In five years, the birth rate of the firstborn has decreased by 20 percent, and that of the second born, by 23 percent. What does this indicate? Where there are no children, they do not want to give birth. And in families with children, there are simply more of them. On the one hand, this is evidence of the understanding by large families of the value of family and childhood, and on the other hand, it is evidence that state policy has a greater influence on support for these families than on the support for first births
According to the head of the directorate “Quality of life and demographic potential” of the FANU “Vostokgosplan” Elena Li, women born in 1981-1991 account for the largest number of third and subsequent births. And in 2018-2021 it increased 4.4 percent and on average amounted to 72.2 percent of the total number of third and subsequent children born in the macro-region.
“This is partly due to the echoes of the population boom of the 1980s, as well as the effectiveness of federal and regional measures to support large families implemented in the Far East,” Elena Li believes.
