The number of Ukrainians abroad is growing. There are several reasons for it – security aspects, humanitarian issues, etc.
It was informed during the presentation and discussion of the survey findings on migration, media consumption, and public and political engagement of displaced Ukrainians, at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform, by the data analyst at the Civil Network OPORA, Andriy Savchuk.
He said that OPORA has data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming that as of June, 21, 2023, 8,177 mln Ukrainians were staying out of country. Savchuk clarified that the MFA does not claim that all those Ukrainian people left because of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“However, this number is still huge. It does not take a great mathematician to realize that it is 20 % of the population we used to have (in Ukraine – ed.) before February, 24, and who are currently staying abroad. OPORA has lodged requests about it for the MFA several times, and we can see that the number of Ukrainian people out of country is growing,” the analyst informed.
According to him, the growing numbers of Ukrainians abroad have several reasons behind – some are leaving because of security issues, and others are concerned about the humanitarian matters.
He said that it is quite hard to take count of the Ukrainians abroad, also because they are not willing to register at the consulate. “One out of 16 Ukrainians only stay on the consular register, which is only about 6% (of the total number of Ukrainian people abroad – ed.),” Savchuk said.
As a highlight, the data analyst of the Civil Network OPORA said that the issue of population size is quite challenging for Ukraine.
He provided the data available at the State commission on Communications illustrating that Ukraine has 48 mln mobile cards operators. According to him, he used a special methodology to conclude that usually 143 SIM cards account for 100 persons.
“The simple ratio shows that, based on this data, about 34 mln people live in Ukraine, and the number is decreasing. The trend is negative although we can see that some regions have resumed their pre-war numbers of population, such as Kyiv,” he informed.
According to Savchuk, the numbers that many sources shared claiming that Ukraine only has under 30 mln people are most likely used to scare.
OPORA representative said that the UN states about 36 mln people residing in Ukraine.
This research was developed as part of the project “Civil Society for Ukraine’s Post-War Recovery and EU-Readiness” implemented with the EU financial support. Its content is a sole responsibility of the Civil Network OPORA and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
Original Post: УКРІНФОРМ