6 %

No, it isn't the latest APR financing at your local car dealership, nor (unfortunately) is it the interest percentage of my savings account. Rather, 6 % is the number of families in Russia that have more than 2 children, at least according to a billboard I recently saw coming back from the airport. One of the biggest political topics of late has been attempting to solve Russia's shrinking population, which is loosing decreasing at a rate of 700,000 per year.

The problem is staggering here in Russia, as this chart shows (FYI: 2.09 children/family means a stable population). Earlier this year, President Putin put forward a plan--basically giving money if families have more kids-- to increase Russia's population, though the plan has largely been greeted with skepticism. While it sounds nice, the costs of living in Russia are increasing at a rate faster than peoples' earning power. Thus, as my language teacher told me, the money Putin promises sounds nice (roughly $9,000 per kid), but that will only cover about the first year of the kid's life--and then what? How do they pay for the next 17+ years? That is the question that parents are thinking about.