The largest share of Russians would like to have 3 or more children in a family (42%), while nearly the same percentage of people (40%) would prefer to have 2 kids. According to the survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre WCIOM.ru, 6% of population do not desire kids at all, while 7% only wish for 1 child.
But this would hold true only for “an ideal situation”. Given the current circumstances, 79% of people who are already parents don’t want more kids. Even among parents with one child 70% do not plan to extend the family. What is the reason for that? 63% of people point to the lack of money to provide the next generation the necessary standards of living and care.
Russians became more open to having 3+ kids in a family
In comparison with the data from 2005, the share of people interested in having 3+ kids in a family increased by 40%. The recent drive by the government in promotion of larger families seems to be working. People start seeing large families as something desirable.
- In 2005 only 30% expressed their desire to have 3 or more descendants, while in December 2017 already 42% of respondents said that “in an ideal situation” they would have 3+ children.
Certainly, the current situation is not viewed as ideal by the respondents, 63% of whom said that to advance the birth rate in Russia would require an improvement in the financial situation of families.
The poll didn’t provide separate data for wishes of Russian women as compared to men, which would definitely show some differences.
For instance, in regard to the age of the first marriage, ladies would like to wed by 25, while men believe that Russian girls should marry by 21.
Regarding childless females, it’s hard for them to give a definitive answer about the number of future babies they wish to have. Certainly, the woman may have an idea now, but this could easily change once she moves to another country and lives in a more peaceful and stable environment, where she is not concerned that her sons and daughters will struggle financially. Often women who only wished to have 1-2 children feel a desire for a larger family, especially if the husband wants it. Definitely, a positive parenting experience makes one more open to having an extended family.
Survey results
Question: How many children would you like to have in ideal conditions (without taking into account your current living conditions)?
- 1 child: 7%
- 2: 40%
- 3: 28%
- 4: 14%
- Don’t want to have children at all: 6%
- Not sure: 5%
Parents mostly don’t want more children
- Given their current life situation, the great majority of parents (79%) would not want to have more kids.
- Among parents with 1 child, the share of those not planning to have additional offspring drops to 70%.
- Among parents with 2 kids, 85% of participants don’t want more children; 84% for those with 3 kids.
- Surprisingly, the lowest share of people not wanting more kids is among parents with 4+ children (67%). But this category also had the highest number of people who were not sure (6%), as compared to 1-2% for parents with fewer dependants.
Data: WCIOM.ru
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To my mind, to have a family with more than 3 children is a huge responsibility. I myself grew up in such a family and I’d like to give some advice. First of all, make sure that you can provide all your children with everything necessary like cloths, toys and stationery. Second, you should have enough place in your appartment for everyone: parents and children or you would just irritate each other. And finally, be patient!