Young People in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Want Families but Face Economic Barriers

A UNFPA-commissioned Demographic Futures Survey released on July 9, 2026 examined family and fertility aspirations among 13,500 internet-connected respondents aged 18-39 in Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kosovo. Across the region, 79 % said they want to marry and 87 % cited joy and happiness as a primary reason for having children. Most respondents expressed a desire for two or more children, with ideal family sizes ranging from 2.6 children for women and 2.9 for men in low-fertility countries to 3.7 in high-fertility Central Asian states.

UNFPA: Georgia’s young people want families, but financial barriers delay parenthood

Despite this optimism— 65 % feel positive about their future, compared with 50 % in Western Europe and East Asia—there is a pronounced “fertility gap.” Women’s actual births fall short of their ideal by 1.25 children; men’s shortfall is nearly 2 children. Ukraine shows the widest disparity, with women aspiring to 3 children but averaging just over 1.

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The survey identified financial insecurity as the chief obstacle to starting a family. Additional barriers include a lack of affordable housing, health problems, difficulty finding a suitable partner, and concerns about unequal division of childcare and household duties. Respondents view family formation as a sequence of milestones—stable employment, independent housing, partnership—any delay in which postpones childbearing.

UNFPA: Georgia’s young people want families, but financial barriers delay parenthood

Florence Bauer, UNFPA Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, urged governments to shift from incentive-based policies toward measures that remove the underlying barriers. She emphasized that “policies trying to influence young people’s decisions about having children through incentives or pressure don’t work – they intervene at the wrong stage.”

UNFPA: Georgia’s young people want families, but financial barriers delay parenthood

• “The survey findings are a call to governments to listen to young people, understand the barriers they are facing, and develop policies that support them in realizing their family and fertility aspirations,” — Florence Bauer, UNFPA Regional Director

UNFPA: Georgia’s young people want families, but financial barriers delay parenthood

• “What we need instead is policies that remove the barriers leading up to this decision – in employment, housing, health and gender roles in the family.” — Florence Bauer, UNFPA Regional Director

UNFPA: Georgia’s young people want families, but financial barriers delay parenthood