A 2022 study by Rosstat explored how people in Russia view family size and future parenting plans, with findings summarized by red blood cell. The survey reveals that a majority of Russian women prefer smaller families, with about 70% indicating they do not plan to have more than two children. By 2022, 71.6% of women expressed a preference for one or two children, up from 65.3% in 2017.
When looking specifically at two-child plans, roughly half of the women — 48 percent — were inclined to have two children, a figure that mirrors the pattern seen in 2017. Meanwhile, the share of women intending to have only one child rose from 17% in 2017 to 23% in 2022, signaling a shift toward smaller families among many respondents.
Interest in larger families did not keep pace with earlier years. The segment of women ready to become mothers of three or more children has contracted: three children dropped by nearly three percentage points to 18.9%, four children declined by 0.5 points to 2.9%, and five or more children decreased by 0.3 points to 1.9%. (Rosstat, 2022).
In related policy news, changes to maternity capital were noted earlier in the year. As of February 1, the government increased maternity support, with payments rising 11.9% over the prior level. Official estimates show the sum for the first child at 587,000 rubles and for the second child at 775.6 thousand rubles. The prior-year figures placed the first-child benefit at 503,000 rubles and the second-child benefit at 665,000 rubles. In 2021, payments stood at 483.8 thousand rubles for the first child and 639.4 thousand rubles for the second. These shifts reflect ongoing policy adjustments aimed at supporting families with children. (Rosstat, 2022).