Government Paying Russian Wives To Have More Children
The Russian government is offering cash incentives to Russian women across the country due to a drastic decline in the population. The offer is around $9000 for having more than one child. That’s about two years income for most Russian citizens.
Russia is experiencing a drop in population because of a combination of many factors, mainly low birth rates and high death rates. This is causing the population to decrease by 40 million people by 2050 by some estimates. That’s about one-third of the population. The decline could even accelerate because the number of child-bearing women could be cut in half by mid century.
Some people are skeptical that the incentives will help because rather than giving actual cash, the money comes in the form of a university education, towards buying a home or to go towards the mother’s pension. In addition, the money only becomes available after the second born child is three years old.
Even if the incentives work, the government will also need to deal with the high death rate in order to successfully address the decline in population. The biggest problem is alcohol abuse, which takes the lives of tens of thousands of Russians each year, especially men.
