On 31 May 2023, over 4 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022 had temporary protection statuses in EU countries, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.
The number of people that have received temporary protection in Cyprus by the end of May was 16,710. The number increased compared to April, when it stood at 15,980. Also, compared with its population, Cyprus hosted 18.5 persons per 1000 persons.
The main countries hosting beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine were Germany (1,111,590 people; 28% of the total), Poland (991,375; 25%) and Czechia (340,090; 8%).
Compared with the end of April 2023, the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine increased in the EU by 57 300 (+1.4%). The largest increases were observed in Germany (+21,355; +2.0%), Czechia (+8,240; +2.5%) and Romania (+3,825; +3.0%).
On the other hand, four countries saw a decrease in the number of people under temporary protection: Poland (-3,660; -0.4%), Portugal (-470; -0.8%), France (-170; -0.3%) and Estonia (-30; -0.1%).
The data refer to the persons that received temporary protection from EU member states after a decision by the Council of the EU a few days after the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Compared with the population of each EU member, the highest numbers of total temporary protection beneficiaries per thousand people in May 2023 were observed in Czechia (32.3), Estonia (26.4), Poland (26.3), Lithuania (24.9), Bulgaria (23.1) and Latvia (22.5), whereas the corresponding figure at the EU level was equal to 9.0 per thousand people.
By May 2023, Ukrainian citizens represented 98% of the beneficiaries of temporary protection. Adult women made up almost half (46.6%; majority aged 35-64) of temporary protection beneficiaries in the EU. Children accounted for slightly more than one third (34.6%), while adult men comprised less than a fifth (18.8%) of the total.
Source: Cyprus News Agency