News articles 9 June 2023

30 April 2023: almost 4 million with EU temporary protection

Adult holding child's hand with the Ukrainian flag in the background

On 30 April 2023, almost 4 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022 were benefitting from temporary protection status in EU countries.

The main countries hosting beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine were Germany (1 090 235 people; 28% of the total), Poland (995 035; 25%) and Czechia (331 850; 8%).

Compared with the end of March 2023, the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine increased across the EU (+51 010; +1.3%). The largest increases were observed in Germany (+22 480; +2%), Sweden (+8 640; +35%) and Czechia (+6 605; +2%). Sweden's large increase was mainly because the process to renew temporary protection statuses, which finished in March 2023, was delayed. This made the number of registered beneficiaries of temporary protection at the end of March seem lower than it actually was.

On the other hand, four countries saw a decrease in the number of people benefitting from temporary protection: Poland (-4 700; -0.5%), Portugal (-2 520; -4%), Estonia (-1 885; -5%) and France (-985; -1%).

Data presented in this article refer to the grants of temporary protection 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 Russia’s military invasion, and having the effect of introducing temporary protection.

Source datasets: migr_asytpsm and demo_gind

Compared with the population of each EU member, the highest numbers of total temporary protection beneficiaries per thousand people in April 2023 were observed in Czechia (31.6), Poland and Estonia (both 26.4), Lithuania (24.5), Bulgaria (22.7) and Latvia (21.2), whereas the corresponding figure at the EU level was equal to 8.9.

By April 2023, Ukrainian citizens represented 98% of the beneficiaries of temporary protection. Adult women made up almost half (47%; majority aged 35-64) of temporary protection beneficiaries in the EU. Children accounted for slightly more than one third (35%), while adult men comprised less than a fifth (18%) of the total.

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Methodological notes:

Some data are unavailable. This is because the monthly data collection is carried out on a voluntary basis, so the completeness of the data may vary:
- Germany: data on beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine not available for March-July 2022.
- Hungary: data on beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine not available for March and April 2022.
- Austria: data on beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine not available for March-June 2022.
- Greece, Italy and Slovakia: data on beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine not available for March 2022.
- France: In most cases, minors can stay in France without a permit. Therefore, minors fleeing the war in Ukraine and seeking protection in France are generally not included in statistics on temporary protection.
- Ireland and Hungary: data on temporary protection broken down by age group are not available.
Sweden: as a result of the renewal of temporary protection statuses, the total number of beneficiaries at the end of March and April 2023 is provisional and may be subject to revisions.
Due to possible delays in renewing temporary protection statuses ending on March 4, 2023, the total number of beneficiaries at the end of March and April may introduce some break in time series and may be revised.
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.
Data presented in this article refer to the granting of temporary protection and not to the registrations for temporary protection, which may precede the process of granting the status. Therefore, the data may not present all persons fleeing Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and who have registered but not yet formally received temporary protection.