Population on the government-controlled territory of Ukraine has decreased, – Director of the Institute of Demography
25 February 16:46
According to demographers, the population in the government-controlled areas of Ukraine may reach 31.5 million people.
This was stated by Ella Libanova, Director of the Institute of Demography and Social Studies, during the expert forum “Mental Health of the Nation and Rehabilitation of Military and Civilians during the War: A Common Cause of the State, Business and Civil Society,” Komersant ukrainskyi reports citing Ukrinform.
“According to the estimates we have already made, the population of Ukraine in the territories controlled by the legitimate Ukrainian authorities reaches about 31.5 million. That is, the direct demographic losses due to the war as of mid-2024 reach 10 million people. This is almost a quarter of the total population of Ukraine before the 2014 aggression,” Libanova said.
At the same time, as the scientist added, if the trends that were observed during 1991-2014 continued, then as of mid-2024, approximately 41.5 million people would live in Ukraine. This, Libanova emphasized, is based on the borders of Ukraine as of 1991, without the annexation of Ukrainian territories and the consequences of armed aggression.
According to the scientist, Ukraine is now losing its demographic growth potential.
“Today, out of the 4.5 million who are reasonably staying outside Ukraine, I mean military migrants, one third are children and adolescents under the age of 18. Only 6% of the total population of these migrants are over 65 years old. That is, our aging process was already quite intense. Now it has intensified significantly. We have lost 10 million people directly today, and a significant part of these people are young people,” Libanova said.
Earlier, Ella Libanova, Director of the Mykhailo Ptukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies, said that the number of Ukrainians who have left since the beginning of the full-scale invasion may be slightly more than 4 million, but it is not worth talking about 6, 7 or 8 million.
