Russia asks millions to have ‘sex at work’ as birthrate plummets

Dozens of countries across the developed world are experiencing falling birth rates, leading countries to introduce extravagant measures to encourage people to get to work.

Some countries, such as Singapore, have tried to get everyone in the mood with quirky rap songs, while Italy has introduced its own national “fertility day” on September 22.

But as always, the Russians have tried to outdo them all.

Responding to the latest figures in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has reportedly encouraged citizens to use their lunch breaks to support the country’s declining population.

A “sex at work” initiative has been launched as part of a wider strategy to tackle the problem, which currently stands at around 1.5 children per woman, well below the rate of 2.1 needed to sustain population levels.

The problem has been exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has forced more than a million young Russians to flee the country for fear of being sent to the front.

Putin has stressed that increasing the birth rate is “the top national priority”, saying that Russia’s survival and future are at stake.

“The fate of Russia… depends on how many of us there are. It is a matter of national importance,” the president said.

Health Minister Dr Yevgeny Shestopalov said that being busy at work was no excuse not to express milk for children.

Recent data highlight the magnitude of the demographic challenge.

In the first six months of 2024, Russia recorded its lowest birth rate since 1999, with fewer than 100,000 births in June alone.

According to Rosstat, the country’s official statistics service, 599,600 children were born in the first half of 2024, a decrease of 16,000 compared to the same period in 2023.

Russia is not alone in its falling birthrates: several other countries, including Thailand, Japan and South Korea, are implementing measures to encourage their declining birthrates.

Earlier this year, modelling experts in Thailand predicted a population decline from 66 million to 33 million in just 60 years.

This decline would cause the working-age population to fall from 46 million to approximately 14 million, severely affecting both economic development and national security.

Much of the decline is due to the younger generation’s reluctance to have children.

Several factors, including rampant inflation, have largely discouraged the current generation from pursuing a traditional family life.

As a result, countries with declining birth rates will see their populations age at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on the economy as the number of people of working age declines.

Annual births in Thailand have fallen below 500,000 from more than 1 million in 197, while the fertility rate has dropped from 6.29 in 1970 to 1.08 in 2023, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

NESDC forecasts suggest that Thailand’s population will peak at 67.19 million in 2028, then decline to 67 million in 2033 and 66.18 million in 2037.

The percentage of the working-age population is expected to decline from 66.1 percent in 2017 to 56.8 percent in 2037.

Meanwhile, the number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since records began in 1899, with the government warning that the next six years to 2030 may be the country’s “last chance” to reverse the trend.

Births fell for the eighth consecutive year to a new record low of 758,631, a 5.1 percent decrease from 2022, marking the lowest number of births since Japan began collecting statistics 125 years ago, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in February.

“People tend to marry and give birth later in life and, on top of this, the coronavirus may have affected marriages and births,” said a health ministry official. The Japanese newspaper Times.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the current declining birth rate was in a “critical state.”

“The period of the next six years or so until the 2030s, when the younger population will begin to decline rapidly, will be the last chance we have to reverse the trend,” he said.

“There is no time to lose.”