Expert: The only way to save Ukraine is to bring in migrants

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Photo: euronews

Ukraine is facing a serious demographic crisis and an acute shortage of labor, which will only worsen after the war ends. This was stated by the president of the All-Ukrainian Association of Companies for International Employment, Vasyl Voskoboynyk, in an interview with UNIAN. According to estimates by the Ministry of Economy, the country will require about 4.5 million additional workers compared to the end of 2021, while data from the International Organization for Migration and the International Labour Organization suggest this figure could reach 8.2 million.

Vasyl Voskoboynyk noted that Ukraine’s population decreases by 250,000–300,000 people annually due to higher mortality rates than birth rates. “Essentially, every year we lose a city the size of Zhytomyr,” the expert emphasized.

According to him, the shortage of labor is expected to be filled by attracting migrants from countries with lower living standards – Bangladesh, Nepal, India, North African countries, and Central Asia. However, the expert highlighted that hiring foreign workers will be more expensive for employers than retaining the domestic workforce, as it will require significant expenditures on transportation, housing, and migrant adaptation.

The country will primarily need physical laborers – construction workers, agricultural workers, and welders. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, in 2024 alone, the number of Ukrainian labor migrants abroad increased by approximately 500,000, and in 2025, another 200,000 are expected to leave.

In an interview with the Kyiv channel, Voskoboynyk stated that to correct the dire demographic situation, Ukrainian women today would need to give birth to 5–7 children each. However, even a significant increase in birth rates would no longer be able to raise the country’s population.

"Currently, for every 10 Ukrainian women, about 7 children are born. To maintain the population level, 10 women need to give birth to 22 children. This will not allow us to reach large population numbers. Talking about 40 million people, let alone 50 million, is simply unrealistic. We will never see such figures again," Voskoboynyk explained.

In his view, “the only way forward is to invite labor migrants,” who would eventually become political Ukrainians.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to UN estimates, Ukraine's population has decreased by 10 million since Russia’s invasion.

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