Ukranian woman holds a small child close to her

In February 2023, among the EU members for which data are available, Germany granted the highest number of temporary protection statuses to Ukrainians fleeing the war in Ukraine (25 125) as a consequence of Russia’s invasion. Germany was followed by Poland (24 905) ahead of Czechia (9 775) and Romania (7 920).

Compared with January 2023, the number of decisions granting temporary protection to Ukrainians in February fell in 19 of the 26 EU members with available data. The largest decreases were observed in Poland (-3 540 compared with January 2023), followed by Germany (-3 080), Czechia (-2 630) and Romania (-1 035). Meanwhile, Ireland (+540) and Finland (+520) recorded the most significant increases.

As of 28 February 2023, the total number of Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection in the EU countries for which data are available were highest in Germany (1 000 530) and Poland (989 080). These cumulative figures include not only the protection statuses granted in February 2023 but also those granted before that month.

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.
 

GIF of maps: Ukranians granted temporary protection in the EU from March 2022 till February 2023, in absolute values and by ratio per 1000 population

Source datasets: migr_asytpfm and demo_gind

 
Compared with the population of each EU member, the highest ratios of Ukrainian citizens granted temporary protection per thousand people in February 2023 were recorded in Cyprus (1.1) and Czechia (0.9). 

Children represented a significant proportion of Ukrainians seeking protection in Germany, Poland, Romania and Czechia

In February 2023, among the countries for which data are available, Germany granted the highest number of temporary protections to Ukrainian children (people under 18 years old), with a total of 7 725 (representing 31% of Ukrainians granted protection in Germany in February 2023), followed by Poland (6 070, 24%), Romania (2 590, 33%) and Czechia (2 550, 26%).

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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 decisions granting temporary protection to Ukrainians are not available for March-July 2022. 
    • Netherlands: data on decisions granting temporary protection to Ukrainians are not available for February 2023. 
    • 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 for Ukrainian children (people under 18 years old) are not available for February 2023. 
  • 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 grants 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.

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