The number of Ukrainians abroad is increasing

The number of Ukrainians abroad is increasing, and this is happening for various reasons-security issues, humanitarian issues, etc.

This was stated by Andriy Savchuk, data analyst at the Civil Network OPORA, during a presentation and discussion of the results of research on migration, media consumption, and socio-political activity of internally displaced persons at the Ukraine-Uninform Media Center.

He noted that OPORA has data from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry that as of June 21, 2023, 8 million 177 thousand Ukrainians were abroad. Savchuk clarified that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not claim that these are all Ukrainians who went abroad due to the full-scale Russian invasion.

"But this figure is still colossal, and you don't need to be a great mathematician to understand that this is actually 20 percent of the population that was (in Ukraine - ed.) before February 24, and which is now abroad. "Opora" has addressed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a request (on this issue - ed.) more than once, and we see that the number of Ukrainians abroad is increasing," the Civic Network analyst said.

According to him, the increase in the number of Ukrainians abroad is due to various reasons - some people go abroad for security reasons, others are concerned about humanitarian issues.

He also noted that it is quite difficult to count Ukrainians abroad because they are reluctant to register with the consulate there. "Only one out of 16 Ukrainians abroad are registered with the consulate, and this is only about 6% (of the total number of Ukrainians abroad - ed.)," Savchuk said. Separately, the data analyst of the Civil Network "OPORA" said that the issue of population is quite complicated for Ukraine in general.

He cited data available to the State Commission for Communications, which shows that there are 48 million cards of mobile operators in Ukraine. According to him, they calculated using a special methodology that there are 143 cards per 100 people.

"According to a simple proportion, we can calculate that according to these data, about 34 million people will live in Ukraine, and they (the number of these people - ed.) show the same reduction. The trend is negative, although we see that there are regions that have restored their pre-war population, for example, Kyiv," he informed.

According to Savchuk, the figures published by many sources that less than 30 million people are living in Ukraine are likely to be more scaremongering.

A representative of OPORA said that the UN says that about 36 million Ukrainians live in Ukraine.

The study "The Number of Ukrainians and Their Migration Abroad Due to the War" was created based on data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Border Guard Service, and other official agencies.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 25/07/2023