Yes, it is quite understandable that you would be surprised. 😳
And the perception that “Ukraine has a population of around 44 million” was quite natural based on earlier statistics.
The important point is that Ukraine’s population did not suddenly drop from 44 million to 22 million.
* 🇺🇦 Immediately after independence in 1991: approximately 52 million * Early 2010s: approximately 45 million * After the annexation of Crimea in 2014: * the population figures changed significantly in statistical terms
* Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022: millions of Ukrainians fled abroad, while the issue of occupied territories also became a major factor
* Since then: further population outflow, a sharp decline in births, deaths caused by the war, and other factors have compounded the decline
In other words, when you see figures of “around 25 million” in the news today, it is important to understand that this does not mean:
Only 25 million people connected to the Ukrainian state exist.
Rather, it refers primarily to:
The number of people actually living in territory currently controlled by the Ukrainian government.
And there is another very major issue here:
How should Ukrainians who have fled abroad be counted?
For example, Ukrainians who have taken refuge in EU countries are not counted as part of Ukraine’s domestic resident population in Ukrainian demographic statistics. But, of course, that does not mean that those Ukrainian citizens have simply ceased to exist.
So when you hear:
44 million → 25 million
it is natural to think, “Did 19 million people simply disappear⁉️”
But in reality, the figure reflects a combination of:
Nevertheless, even with all of these factors taken into account, the estimate that only around 25 million people are currently living within Ukrainian government-controlled territory is extremely serious.
Considering the population decline that had already been occurring before the war, this is no longer merely a problem of wartime refugees. It has become a demographic issue directly affecting the future viability of the Ukrainian state itself.