As of August 31, 2023, there were 4,155,600 citizens from non-EU countries who left Ukraine due to the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, and were granted temporary protection status in EU countries, according to Eurostat.
"Compared to the end of July 2023, the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine in the EU increased by 41,275 (+1.0%). The largest absolute increase was observed in Germany (+21,830; +1.9%), the Czech Republic (+7,545; +2.1%), and the Netherlands (+2,635; +1.7%)," the statistical agency noted.
In July and June, the growth was 1.1%, or 45,900-45,800 individuals, while in May, the number of recipients of temporary protection from Ukraine in the EU increased by 57,300 individuals (+1.4%), and in April, it increased by 51,000 individuals (+1.3%). Over these five months, the most significant increase was in Germany, with approximately 108,000 individuals in total, followed by the Czech Republic with 39,800 individuals.
Eurostat pointed out that Poland is the main country where the number of people benefiting from temporary protection is decreasing, with a decrease of 10,530 individuals in August (1.1%) and a total decrease of 39,200 individuals over five months.
In August, two other countries where a decrease in the number of refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection status was observed were Italy (-550, or -0.3%) and France (-420, or -0.6%).
According to Eurostat data, as of the end of August, the main EU countries that hosted beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine were Germany (1,175,700 individuals; 28.3% of the total), Poland (960,550 individuals; 23.1%), and the Czech Republic (365,090 individuals; 8.8%). The combined share of these three countries accounted for 60.2%.
Eurostat specified that compared to the population of each EU member, the highest number of beneficiaries of temporary protection per thousand individuals in August 2023 was observed in the Czech Republic (33.7), Poland (26.2), Bulgaria (25.6), and Lithuania (25.3), while the EU-wide figure reached 9.3.
It was also noted that as of August 31, 2023, over 98% of beneficiaries of temporary protection were citizens of Ukraine. Adult women made up nearly half (46.5%) of the recipients of temporary protection in the EU, children slightly more than a third (33.9%), while adult men comprised less than one-fifth (19.5%) of the total, although the previous month they represented 19.2%.
According to the data provided, in August, Spain returned to the fourth position in terms of the number of refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection status in the EU, with 184,830 individuals, while Bulgaria became the fifth with 164,880 individuals.
In addition to the countries mentioned earlier, in July of this year, there were also over 100,000 such individuals in Italy (159,890 individuals), Romania (137,850 individuals), the Netherlands (131,940 individuals), and Slovakia (107,630 individuals).
The countries with between 50,000 and 100,000 such individuals included Ireland (92,560 individuals), Austria (78,350 individuals), Lithuania (72,230 individuals), Belgium (70,070 individuals), France (66,930 individuals, with child data mainly not included - Eurostat), Switzerland (65,390 individuals), Finland (60,100 individuals), Portugal (56,710 individuals), and Norway (52,610 individuals).
Continuing, Latvia had 42,840 individuals, Sweden had 41,180 individuals, Denmark had 36,880 individuals, Estonia had 35,780 individuals, Hungary had 32,750 individuals, Greece had 25,740 individuals, Croatia had 22,330 individuals, Cyprus had 17,920 individuals, Luxembourg had 4,190 individuals, Iceland had 3,330 individuals, Malta had 1,850 individuals, and Liechtenstein had 520 individuals.
Eurostat clarified that all the data provided relate to the provision of temporary protection based on EU Council Decision 2022/382 of March 4, 2022, which establishes the presence of a massive influx of displaced persons from Ukraine due to Russia's military invasion and necessitates the introduction of temporary protection.
According to UNHCR data, as of October 3, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe was estimated at 5.835 million, and globally it was 6.205 million, which is only 1,000 more than the previous week.
In Ukraine itself, according to UN data as of the end of May, there were 5.088 million internally displaced persons.
