According to an optimistic forecast from the Institute of Demography and Social Research, within 10 years no more than 35 million people will live in Ukraine within the 1991 borders, said the institute’s director, Ella Libanova.
As she specified, population reduction will occur regardless of whether all the refugees return or Ukraine manages to attract migrants from other countries. Recently, the number of Ukrainians receiving refugee status or temporary protection abroad has been increasing more slowly than last year. However, there is another negative trend.
“Since 2023, the number of Ukrainian labor refugees in Poland has decreased. They are going further – to Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and various countries, but they are going further. Therefore, the greater the distance between Ukraine and that country, where our people are, the less likely they will return,” the scientist noted.
According to her, today, the government’s main task should be taking steps to motivate Ukrainians to return.