How many children does the typical russian family have?

Comments ( 5 )

1. rp121121 says

   you see, the thing is that the majority of people, as a matter of fact almost all people who live in the cities, even relatively wealthy people, live in what you call housing projects. a typical family owns a 2 – 3 bedroom apartment (perhaps, a flat or condo would be a better word, though I do not think that there is the exact English equivalent). this is the legacy of the soviet union, as they did not really encourage you to have your own private home like ones people in america have, in fact it was to the contrary. it will probably change over time, but in any case this is what it is now, and if you have only 2 or 3 bedroom apartment you cannot really have more then 2 kids. hence the outcome (1-2 child families and decreasing population)

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2. GermanCA says

   I know that it sounds stupid, but since the government of Russia has increased the grants for those families who have more than 2 children, russians started to make and adopt more babies due to very poor economic situation of russian citizens. So they are kind of making business on their children and because of that a typical russian family usually has more than 2 children.

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3. for_me_blue says

   You know… everyone I know has two children. My husband has a sister and a brother. But everyone else I know has two children. I can't think of a family I know personally with only one child other than myself, but I am still young – my sister in-law being two years old than me has two already. But I think two is a good amount and plus living in flats isn't very easy with a big family and most families live in flats. But the government is aware of this problem and is now giving money to new parents. My daughter was born in 2005 and I was given around $ 400 and my delivery with my own private room where my husband was allowed to sleep, with a television, my own table, great food, and all appointments and scans was $ 500. That's it. And the ambulance ride to the hospital was free. (They've actually upped the price recently – my sister in-law had a baby and they gave her way more than I was given) Now I won't say that everything was all rosy about it – if you saw the hospital wrist band that my daughter wore you'd laugh, it was a piece of fabric with her name written on it with marker and was so huge and irritating to her skin and when I'd take it off of her I'd get "verbally assaulted" because how would they know who's baby it is?? (I'm being semi-sarcastic) – hospitals in Russia still need a lot of work, but they are getting better. I had my daughter in a public hospital, not a private one and I've heard private hospitals are much better.

   With that being said: I think the rates will rise soon as the lifestyle improves. And it is improving drastically every year. Not like the old days when my mother in-law had her first son in a hallway with ten other screaming ladies who were also delivering. That alone would be enough to make you afraid to have a baby! 😉

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4. mervent999 says

   Your husband is right. But this situation is typical for modern Russia. In old Tsar's times,before the sociallist revolution in 1917, to have 6-7 children in each family almost was more typical for Russia =)

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5. AllBrokenUp247 says

   The population in Russia is sadly in catastrophic decline. The government now offers big financial inducements to have a second child. I would imagine that the incredible hardships endured by Russians for decades – 'Communism' and 'Free Economy' alike – underlies the low interest in having children. Of course, there isn't a typical Russian family, only statistical averages. I have an adult friend there who is one of three children.

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