Ukraine faces a sharp decline in population: losses for the year reached one million people

In 2025, Ukraine’s population decreases by about one million people due to a combination of natural decline and mass emigration. As of February 2026, there are approximately 29 million people living in state-controlled territories. The demographic crisis is aggravated by the aging of the nation and the loss of qualified personnel, which in the long term may lead to an acute labor shortage and the need to attract migrants from other regions of the world.

LB.ua reported, citing a statement by the director of the Ptukha Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ella Libanova, that the main reason for the decline remains the excess of mortality over birth rate. “The population is aging – there is someone to die, there is no one to give birth to,” the expert stated, adding that the annual natural loss of 300 thousand people has been observed for more than a decade.

Migration has become a significant factor in destabilizing the situation. According to Libanova, the majority of citizens left as early as the first half of 2022, and less than a million people have returned. Specialists express concern about a possible “second wave” of emigration after the lifting of martial law: if women have already settled abroad, there is a high probability that men will go to them to reunite their families, and not vice versa.

The qualitative composition of migration is particularly alarming. Ukraine is losing the most educated part of its population – more than 70% of women over 25 abroad have higher education. In the future, foreign workers may be needed to rebuild the country. Libanova assumes that top-level specialists will have to be found in Europe, and for low-skilled work, for example, in construction, to attract migrants from countries like Bangladesh or the African region.

Earlier we reported that after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukraine will have to face a number of serious social challenges, one of which is the demographic crisis. Statistics indicate that Ukrainians who left the country over the past three years are mostly reluctant to return.