Crimean authorities admit the birth rate is dropping in the Crimea
The number of children born in the annexed Crimea during the first nine months of 2017 declined in comparison with the same period last year, the press service of the Kremlin-controlled Ministry of Justice of the Crimea reported.
"During the first nine months of 2017, 15,735 newborns were registered in the Crimea. This is less than the numbers for 2016, where about 17,000 children were born," the press service said.
According to the Russian Ministry of Justice, the largest number of newborns was registered in Simferopol (4,370); the other districts reported as follows: the Simferopol district (1,158), Yalta (1,005), Kerch (971), and Yevpatoria (969). The lowest number of children born was in Armyansk, where the number was 168 children. Numbers were low in other areas as well including Razdolnensky (184), Pervomaisky (197), Chernomorsky (227), Sovietsky districts (276), and Sudak (276).
Taking into account the indicators of 2015, the birth rate in the Crimea continues to fall. In 2015, 23,951 children were born in the Crimea (according to the data of the Crimean Ministry of Healthcare, controlled by the Kremlin), in 2016 only 23,090 children were born (data of the Department of Civil Status of the Russian-controlled Ministry of Justice of the Crimea).