All news

Estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian children reside abroad — statistics

The Ukrainian Institute of the Future estimates that the country’s population, which stood at 48.5 million people in 2001, shrunk to 29 million by 2023

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Around 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens under the age of 18 are currently residing abroad, and should they get a university degree there, the chance that they return are slim, President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Companies for International Employment Vasily Voskoboinik said.

"Approximately 1.5 Ukrainian children below the age of 18 are currently residing abroad. If they manage to enter higher education facilities there, they will not return to Ukraine, because a college degree will give them a chance for official employment and salary that would be four, five or even ten times what they could get in Ukraine," he said in a video, published by Novosti.LIVE.

The Ukrainian Institute of the Future estimates that the country’s population, which stood at 48.5 million people in 2001, shrunk to 29 million by 2023. On top of that, the country’s demographic structure has been flipped upside down as a result of ageing population, low birth rates and mass emigration, with 9.5 million people of employment age supporting 23 million senior citizens, children and unemployed individuals.