Population on Ukrainian controlled territory decreased to 31.5 million people - Institute of Demography
Ukraine has lost a significant part of its population due to the war, and currently the number of people living in government-controlled territory is approximately 31.5 million.
This was reported by Ella Libanova, Director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies, at an expert forum in Ukrinform, Censor.NET reports.
According to her, it is not easy to assess the demographic losses caused by the war, as Ukraine has seen a decline in births and natural mortality before.
"According to the estimates we have already made, the population of Ukraine in the territories controlled by the legitimate Ukrainian authorities reaches about 31.5 million. That is, the direct demographic losses as a result of the war as of mid-2024 reach 10 million people. This is almost a quarter of the total population of Ukraine before the 2014 aggression," Libanova said.
At the same time, she said, if pre-war demographic trends had continued, Ukraine's population could have reached 41.5 million people.
She also stressed that a significant number of military migrants are young people. Out of the 4.5 million Ukrainians currently abroad, one third are children and teenagers under the age of 18. Only 6% are people over the age of 65.
"That is, our ageing process was already quite intense. Now it has intensified significantly. We have lost 10 million people directly today, and a significant part of these people are young people," the expert concluded.
