As of the end of March 2025, 4,329,970 citizens of non-EU countries who had left Ukraine due to the full-scale Russian invasion held temporary protection status in EU countries, which is 68,980 or 1.6% fewer than at the end of February, according to Eurostat.
“The largest decrease was recorded in Italy (-30,365; -47.4%) due to the simultaneous expiration of a large number of permits at the end of the month, linked to the annual permit renewal procedure. This was followed by the Czech Republic (-19,810; -5.0%) and Finland (-8,080; -10.2%),” the agency’s report states.
According to the report, the number of people under temporary protection increased in 14 EU countries and decreased in 13. The largest absolute increases were observed in Germany (+7,480; +0.6%), Spain (+2,665; +1.0%), and Romania (+2,125; +1.0%).
Compared to data from a year ago, the number of refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection in EU countries increased by 68,620, or 1.6%.
According to Eurostat data as of the end of March 2026, Germany, with a growing lead, remains the country with the largest number of refugees from Ukraine in the EU and the world—1,274,960 (a year earlier – 1,184,890), or 29.4% of the total number of beneficiaries in the EU.
The top three also include Poland—997,120 (961,410 a year earlier), or 22.2%, and the Czech Republic—379,820 (365,060), or 8.8%.
Trailing far behind are Spain—262,830 (233,830 a year earlier)—and Romania—207,860 (182,840).
According to the agency’s data, compared to the population of each EU member state, the highest number of beneficiaries of temporary protection per thousand people at the end of March 2026 was observed in the Czech Republic (34.8), Poland (26.3), and Slovakia (26.2), while the corresponding figure at the EU level is 9.6.
It is also noted that as of the end of March 2025, Ukrainian citizens accounted for over 98.4% of temporary protection beneficiaries. Adult women made up 43.3% of temporary protection recipients in the EU, children 30.1%, while adult men accounted for 26.6% of the total. A year earlier, the share of women was 44.7%, children 31.8%, and adult men 23.4%; a year before that, the figures were 45.8%, 32.8%, and 21.4%, respectively.
As of the end of March 2026, there were also over 100,000 people with temporary protection status in Slovakia—142,250 (a year earlier – 132,620), the Netherlands – 137,900 (123,340), and Ireland – 120,530 (111,770)
Between 50,000 and 100,000 were in Belgium—95,550 (89,540), in Austria – 86,880 (81,230), Norway – 86,380 (80,180), Bulgaria – 82,050 (72,640), Switzerland – 72,550 (68,860), Finland – 70,830 (70,720), and France – 50,420 (56,300) (data on children in France is largely excluded – Eurostat).
In Italy, following a significant reduction by the end of March this year, only 33,720 refugees from Ukraine held temporary protection status, compared to 165,230 a year earlier.
Less than 50,000 refugees from Ukraine with this status are also present in: Denmark – 48,630 (35,520), Lithuania – 48,270 (44,230), Hungary – 44,050 (39,900), Sweden – 43,240 (27,010), Greece – 38,920 (33,250), Latvia – 31,540 (48,360), Estonia – 29,600 (33,600), Croatia – 29,230 (26,410), Cyprus – 24,890 (23,090), Iceland – 4,090 (latest data as of the end of July 2025), Luxembourg – 3,790 (3,960), Malta – 2,600 (2,280), and Liechtenstein – 920 (730)
Eurostat clarified that all the data provided relates to the granting of temporary protection pursuant to EU Council Decision 2022/382 of March 4, 2022, which establishes the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine in connection with Russia’s military invasion and entails the introduction of temporary protection. On June 13, 2025, the European Council adopted a decision to extend temporary protection for these individuals from March 4, 2026, to March 4, 2027.
According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of April 30, 2026, was estimated at 5.213 million, and globally at 5.762 million, which is 162,000 fewer than on February 19.
In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data for January 2026, there were 3.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.340 million in July and 3.76 million in April.
In its April inflation report, the National Bank again estimated the outflow from Ukraine in 2025 at 0.3 million and maintained its 2026 outflow forecast at 0.2 million. The NBU expects this trend to reverse in 2027, with an inflow of 0.1 million, and an increase to 0.5 million in 2028.
temporary protection, EU, Ukrainians
