Russia is wanting citizens to 'have sex at work' to address the nation's plummeting birthrate. Photo / 123rf
Russia is wanting citizens to 'have sex at work' to address the nation's plummeting birthrate. Photo / 123rf
Russia is calling on its citizens to have “sex at work” during lunch breaks to address the country’s plummeting birthrate.
Some countries have tried a range of interesting measures, such as Singapore, which created songs to get people in the mood, or Italy, which introduced national “fertility day”.
But Russia has taken it even further, with President Vladimir Putin encouraging workers to get busy during lunch breaks.
While discussing the “sex-at-work” initiative, Putin stressed that boosting Russia’s birthrate is the “highest national priority”.
The country’s birthrate statistics show that there are only 1.5 children born per woman, which is well below the 2.1 rate needed for nations to sustain its population levels.
Putin claimed that the survival of Russia as a nation is on the line if birthrates don’t increase quickly.
“The fate of Russia … depends on how many of us there will be. It is a question of national importance,” Putin claimed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the push for citizens to have sex during work as an act of national importance. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
It is expected that the population of Russia will decrease to about 130 million by 2050 from the current population of 144 million.
Echoing Putin’s sentiments, Russian Health Minister Dr Yevgeny Shestopalov hit out at citizens who use a busy work schedule as an excuse for not having children, labelling it a “lame excuse”.
“Being very busy at work is not a valid reason, but a lame excuse. You can engage in procreation during breaks because life flies by too quickly,” Shestopalov said.
When asked how workers would fit in time to have sex, the Health Minister snapped back saying “during break times”.
Member of Parliament Tatyana Butskaya also presented a strategy for workplaces to assist in birthrates.
“Each employer should look at their workplace: What is your birth rate? Do all of you who are capable of bearing children have one more child this year?” she said.
In 2024, Russia recorded its lowest birthrates since 1999, with less than 100,000 births in June alone.
The issue has intensified with the ongoing war with Ukraine, which saw more than one million young Russians flee the country in fear of being deployed on the front line.
According to Rosstat, the country’s official statistics service, 599,600 children were born in the first half of 2024, a drop of 16,000 compared to the same period in 2023.
Women in Moscow between the ages of 18 and 40 are also encouraged to undergo free fertility assessments.
Females under the age of 24 in Chelyabinsk are also being rewarded more than $16,000 for giving birth to their first child.
Other countries are also struggling to maintain birthrates, with Thailand, Japan, and South Korea implementing measures to encourage births to increase.
Models out of Thailand forecast their population to drop from 66 million to just 33 million in 60 years
