Twice as many male refugees from Ukraine as female have entered Germany in a year – media

The number of Ukrainian male refugees aged 18 to 63 is growing in Germany.

It was written by the authors of the influential Welt magazine based on an analysis of data from the Central Register of Foreigners.

As of March 9, 2026, there were 1,340,362 people in Germany who entered the country in connection with the war in Ukraine. Among them were 349,520 men and 500,393 women aged 18 to 63.

A year earlier, there were 297,660 men in this age group. Thus, over twelve months, their number increased by about 52,000. The number of women aged 18 to 63 years increased by almost 24,000 over the same period.

A similar result was shown by the analysis conducted by the Federal Employment Agency for the age group from 15 to 64 years. There, the share of men is now about 41%; in May 2022, it was still at 26%. These figures are politically sensitive, as after the general mobilization, many Ukrainian citizens of military age faced restrictions on leaving the country.

Initially, this applied to men aged 18 to 60. In August, Kyiv partially eased the rules: since then, young people under the age of 22 have been allowed to leave the country. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, this opportunity has been actively used since the fall. Male refugees continued to arrive in Germany even recently.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), in February, German states registered 8,783 Ukrainian asylum seekers in the central registration system FREE, including 4,392 male refugees, including minors.

"Forecasts show that hundreds of thousands of soldiers have died on both sides. I understand everyone who is fleeing this carnage," said Clara Bünger, a domestic policy expert for the Left Party

Criticism, however, is coming from the ruling CDU/CSU.

"Young men of military age from Ukraine have no place in the German welfare system," said Alexander Throm, the party's spokesman for domestic policy.

Other European countries, such as Poland, have long adjusted their benefits. Throm is also calling for a "fair distribution of Ukrainian refugees in Europe."

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