MOSCOW. Sept 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The number of army conscripts aged 18-19 will decrease by 35% by 2025 due to the declining health of young people in Russia, the Public Chamber's commission for the affairs of war veterans, military men and their families said in a report issued in Moscow on Friday.
"Having compared all information on the people of conscription age, it can be said that no more than 40-45% of the conscripts will be able to serve in the army, and the number of conscripts aged 18-19 will go down 35% by 2025," says the report.
The most critical years will be 2018 and 2019, when the number of 18-year old conscripts will reach 637,000 and 633,000, respectively (the number currently stands at 1.75 million).
"According to the Russian Statistics Agency, some 40% of children are born sick. It is a time bomb that will undermine the future of our country, its moral and physical health, its social and, as a consequence, military security. According to information possessed by the Central medical Commission of the Russian defense Ministry, over 30% of young people below conscription age cannot serve in the army due to poor health," says the report.
The document also states that military men's health is not improving either. One in ten military men have health problems, compared with 6% in 2006.