At the beginning of 2026, a sharp decrease in the birth rate is observed among Turkic peoples in Central Asia.
Modern.az reports that the birth rate in the first 2 months of 2026 has been compared with the previous year.
Births in Kazakhstan:
• In 2 months of 2025 — 51,439 children
• On 1-2 dates of 2026 — 48,541 children
This means a -5.6% decrease in the birth rate in Kazakhstan compared to the annual figure.
In Uzbekistan, the number of births in the first 2 months was 123,966. This figure was 135,912 in 2025, and thus, the decrease was 8.8%.
If these trends continue throughout the year, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Kazakhstan could fall from 2.57 to 2.50 per woman (the lowest since 2007), and in Uzbekistan from 3.21 to 3.00 (the lowest since 2020). Due to urbanization and smartphone use, demographic transformation is gradually beginning to encompass the relatively large Central Asian population.
It should be noted that a similar decrease is observed in other Turkic states - Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.
