Ukraine suffers a high mortality rate from environmental pollution, poor diets, widespread smoking, extensive alcoholism and deteriorating medical care. During the years 2008 to 2010, more than 1.5 million children were born in Ukraine, compared to fewer than 1.2 million during 1999–2001. In 2008 Ukraine posted record-breaking birth rates since its 1991 independence. Infant mortality rates have also dropped from 10.4 deaths to 8.3 per 1,000 children under one year of age. This is lower than in 153 countries of the world. In 2019 the government ran an electronic census using multiple sources, including mobile phone and pension data, and estimated that Ukraine's population, excluding Crimea and parts of the Donbas, to be 37.3 million. About 20 million were of active working age. Demographics of the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine As a consequence of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia illegally occupied and illegally annexed parts of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. Internationally these regions are still recognized as part of Ukraine. No census has been conducted since the Russian invasion in 2022. In the table below, for the territories annexed in 2022, the pre-war population of the Raions of Ukraine roughly corresponding to the territory effectively occupied by Russia in February 2023 is listed. Actual numbers will be lower however, since large groups of Ukrainians have fled the conflict zone. In 2021, some 2,5 million people lived in the territories annexed since 2014 and some 6,2 million in those annexed since 2022, adding up to a total of 8,7 million people living in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Fertility and natalist policies The current birth rate in Ukraine, , is 8.1 live births/1,000 population, and the death rate is 14.7 deaths/1,000 population. The phenomenon of lowest-low fertility, defined as total fertility below 1.3, is emerging throughout Europe and is attributed by many to postponement of the initiation of childbearing. Ukraine, where total fertility (a very low 1.1 in 2001), was one of the world's lowest, shows that there is more than one pathway to lowest-low fertility. Although Ukraine has undergone immense political and economic transformations during 1991–2004, it has maintained a young age at first birth and nearly universal childbearing. Analysis of official national statistics and the Ukrainian Reproductive Health Survey show that fertility declined to very low levels without a transition to a later pattern of childbearing. Findings from focus group interviews suggest explanations of the early fertility pattern. These