1 in 3 Babies Born to Unmarried Moms in Russia

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

1 in 3 Babies Born to Unmarried Moms in Russia

Nearly one-third of all babies born in Russia last year were born to unwed mothers, double the percentage of a decade earlier and at a level not seen since World War II, government statistics show.

Nearly one-third of all babies born in Russia last year were born to unwed mothers, double the percentage of a decade earlier and at a level not seen since World War II, government statistics show.

More than 40 percent of these babies were born to teenagers, according to the statistics, which were compiled by the Center for Demography and Human Ecology at the Russian Academy of Sciences and published in the Nov. 5-18 issue of the center's magazine, Demoscope.

The number of births to married women dropped from 1.87 million in 1989 to 912,500 in 2000, while the number of births to unmarried women increased from 291,700 to 354,300, the magazine article said. The percentage of births to unmarried women jumped from 13 percent to 28 percent.

The number of births to unmarried teenagers, ages 15-19, grew more rapidly than any other age group from 55,695 in 1990 to 66,859 in 2000, a percentage leap from 20 percent to 41 percent.

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