Changes in the marital behavior of the population in Ukraine during the war

Abstract

The Russia-Ukraine war dramatically changes the living conditions of population, as a result of which there are changes in the demographic behavior (marital, reproductive, and migratory). These changes affect both the current demographic situation and future demographic development. The purpose of this study is to determine the changes in the marital behavior in Ukraine which appeared under the influence of the war. In the study were used data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine (for the period before the full-scale invasion), data from the Ministry of Justice, media publications, expert assessments, and sample survey materials. In the last decades, a gradual modernization of the marital behavior of the population was observed in Ukraine: age at first marriage of both women and men increased, share of early marriages decreased, and various forms of cohabitation became widespread. In Ukraine the divorce rate remained high but gradually decreased. Russia’s war against Ukraine deformed the natural processes of life and development of the Ukrainian population. In the first two years of the fullscale war the increasing number of marriages was caused by growth in cases of official marriage registration by partners who previously delayed or refused to do so. In the extreme conditions of war, couples need the guarantees provided by the state in a registered marriage. At the same time, the number of divorces decreased. The similar trends were observed in 2014–2015, during the period of active military actions in Donbas. Further changes mostly depend on the duration of the war and the security conditions in the country.