Since March 2022, Ukrainians fleeing the war started by Russia have benefited from a status allowing them to stay, work and access aid in the European Union. After two years of large-scale war in Ukraine, this protection, which was due to expire on March 4, 2025, was again extended for another year on Tuesday.
The Temporary Protection Directive was activated by the European Union on March 4, 2022, a week after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The number of requests for protection reached its peak in March and April 2022 before decreasing in the majority of EU countries.
According to a latest report published on its website (English), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recorded nearly 6.5 million Ukrainian refugees throughout Europe. More than half are located in the countries bordering Ukraine: Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia but also Moldova, Belarus and Russia. Indeed, the numerous fighting taking place in the regions of Donbass and Luhansk, with a large Russian-speaking minority, have led to a massive exodus towards the Russian neighbor.
More than 1.2 million refugees in Germany
However, the majority of Ukrainians took refuge in the West, particularly in Germany, which took in more than 1.2 million. Poland received more than 950,000 and the Czech Republic more than 370,000, according to Eurostat and Statista (graph below). In February 2024, France welcomed nearly 69,500 people.
Find more statistics on Statista
Note that the effort does not weigh in the same way depending on the size of the country. In 2023, for example and still according to UNHCR figures, in number of refugees per 1,000 inhabitants, it was Estonia (50.49‰) and the Czech Republic (46.58‰), followed by Poland (41.52 ‰) which had the largest ratios of Ukrainian refugees.
Adult women represent almost half of the beneficiaries of temporary protection, and children around a third, according to Eurostat. The vast majority of these minors (78%) are under 14 years old.
