Ukraine is in a competition for its own citizens, said Pavlo Grod, president of the World Congress of Ukrainians, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. The country must compete not only with European labor markets but also with the lifestyle that people have built abroad. Grod stressed that the millions of Ukrainians who fled since the start of Russia’s full-scale war should not be branded traitors. After the war, they could become the most important human resource for rebuilding Ukraine.
Factors for return
According to Grod, the return of refugees depends on several factors: safety, housing, income, access to jobs, education quality, healthcare, public services, and predictability of life. Ukraine must create these conditions to encourage its citizens to come back. Demographer Oleksandr Gladun, deputy director of the Institute of Demography and Life Quality, added that the full-scale war did not trigger the demographic crisis but significantly intensified existing trends.
Gladun pointed out that population decline is a global trend, not a uniquely Ukrainian phenomenon. However, Ukraine has been hit particularly hard because the war accelerated emigration and further depressed the birth rate. The challenge now is to stop emigration and create incentives for return.
The full analysis is available under the title “Ukraine struggles with demographic crisis – return of millions of displaced citizens as key.”
Source: www.pravda.com.ua
