Every fifth Ukrainian would like to leave country after borders are opened - survey

If the border were opened for all categories of the population to leave for another country for permanent residence, 20.7% of Ukrainians would like to leave.

This is evidenced by the survey data of the Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center.

70% of those surveyed would choose to stay and live in Ukraine, another 9.3% of respondents were undecided on this issue.

It is worth noting that among those who would like to leave Ukraine, the proportion is higher among men (25%) than among women (17%).

The desire to live in another country also correlates with the age of the respondents. Thus, among young people (18-29 years old) every third person (33% of respondents) wants to leave Ukraine, from 30 to 39 - 27% would like to go abroad, among respondents aged 40-49 - 23%, 50-59 - 16%, and among respondents over 60 - 9%.

As for the reasons for leaving Ukraine, the most frequently mentioned were the lack of opportunities for development (30.5%), threat to health and life due to hostilities (28.6%), insufficient social support from the state (28.6%), to reunite with relatives who have already left (26.2%).

The survey was conducted in territories controlled by the government of Ukraine and where there are no hostilities. 1,518 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed face-to-face.

As previously reported, half a million Ukrainians left abroad in 2024 and did not return.