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89 000 EU Blue Cards issued for skilled workers in 2023
4.26 million under temporary protection in March
On 31 March 2025, slightly more than 4.26 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine had temporary protection status in the EU.
The EU countries hosting the highest number of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine were Germany (1 184 890 people; 27.8% of the EU total), Poland (997 120; 23.4%) and Czechia (365 055; 8.6%).
Compared with the end of February 2025, the total number of people under temporary protection in the EU at the end of March decreased by 45 455 (-1.1%). The largest decreases were recorded in Czechia (-32 695; -8.2%), Sweden (-20 505; -43.2%) and Lithuania (-4 845; -9.9%). These decreases are to a large extent explained by temporary protection statuses ending in March 2025. Some individuals might be excluded temporarily while undergoing renewal.
The number of persons under temporary protection increased in 18 EU countries with the largest absolute increases observed in Germany (+7 090; +0.6%), Poland (+2 330, +0.2%) and Spain (+2 275; +1.0%).
Source datasets: migr_asytpsm and migr_asytpspop
Compared with the population of each EU country, the highest ratio of temporary protection beneficiaries per thousand people were observed in Czechia (33.5), Poland (27.2) and Latvia (26.4), whereas the corresponding figure at the EU level was 9.5 per thousand people.
On 31 March 2025, Ukrainian citizens represented over 98.4% of the beneficiaries of temporary protection in the EU. Adult women made up almost half (44.7%) of the beneficiaries. Minors accounted for almost one-third (31.7%), while adult men comprised less than a quarter (23.6%) of the total.
Data presented in this article refer to the attribution of temporary protection status based on the Council Implementing Decision 2022/382 of 4 March 2022, establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and introducing temporary protection.
On 25 June 2024, the European Council adopted the decision to extend the temporary protection for these people from 4 March 2025 to 4 March 2026.
For more information
- Statistics Explained on temporary protection for persons fleeing Ukraine
- Thematic section on the impact of the war in Ukraine
- Thematic section on migration and asylum
- Database on asylum statistics
- European Commission – Temporary protection
Methodological notes
- Structures of beneficiaries by age and sex have been calculated based on available data while disregarding the unknown category.
- Temporary protection is a procedure provided only in the event of a mass influx or imminent mass influx of displaced persons from third countries who are unable to return to their country of origin. These people are granted immediate and temporary protection, particularly if there is also a risk that the asylum system will be unable to process the influx without adverse effects for its efficient operation, in the interests of the persons concerned and other persons requesting protection.
Country notes
- EU aggregate for February and March 2025 was estimated by using latest available data for Portugal from December 2024
- France: data does not generally include minors.
- Spain, Cyprus and Greece: data on the number of persons under temporary protection at the end of the month include some persons whose temporary protection status was no longer valid.
- Portugal: data for January, February and March 2025 are not available.
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