How many Ukrainians are ready to move to the US or the EU if they become citizens: survey results

Almost one in five Ukrainians is ready to move to the United States or the European Union if they become citizens. The number is significantly lower than in 2020, but much higher than in 2022.

At the same time, almost 80% of Ukrainians say they would stay in Ukraine. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in the first week of September this year.

Sociologists asked respondents whether they would move to the United States or the European Union for permanent residence if they were granted citizenship without conditions. The affirmative answer to this question was given by 19% of respondents.

Sociologists asked Ukrainian citizens the same question in October 2020 and September 2022.

Before the full-scale invasion, 28% of Ukrainians were ready to move abroad.

But in the first year of the great war, the number of those who were ready for such a step dropped to 7%. Sociologists attributed this to both the fact that some of the citizens who wanted to emigrate went abroad because of Russian aggression and to the growth of patriotism and optimism about Ukraine's future.

At the same time, as of September 2024, the vast majority of Ukrainians – 79% – claim that they would not agree to move even if they were granted US or EU citizenship.

Compared to 2022, the number of people willing to emigrate abroad has increased in all regions. However, in almost all regions, except for eastern Ukraine, there are fewer such people than in 2020. In the eastern regions, this figure is the same as four years ago.

And in all regions of our country, the absolute majority – from 75 to 81% – want to stay in Ukraine.

Compared to 2022, the number of people willing to leave has increased among all age groups, but 74 to 86% of Ukrainians of all ages choose Ukraine.

Sociologists also paid attention to the moods of young people – citizens of our country aged 18 to 29. In 2020, almost half of the representatives of this age group (46%) wanted to emigrate. In September 2022, only 13% of Ukrainian youth were ready to move, and in 2024, 26% of respondents under the age of 30 expressed this desire.

However, 74% of this age group want to stay in their homeland.

The situation is similar among 30-44-year-old Ukrainians, 75% of whom are not ready to move abroad.

At the same time, the survey showed that among men of military age (25-55 years old), more people are willing to go abroad permanently than among women. 27% of men and 18% of women are ready to emigrate. 70% of men and 80% of women would refuse to move to European countries or the United States.

However, this trend is not only due to general mobilization. In 2020, significantly more men wanted to emigrate.

Commenting on the results of the survey, KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetskyi emphasized that the outflow of population, especially young people, has been a "chronic problem" in Ukraine throughout the years of independence. And the full-scale invasion of Russia has only exacerbated this problem.

Both Russia and some actors inside Ukraine use demographic issues to manipulate the mood of Ukrainians, in particular by spreading narratives that our fellow citizens "want to leave Ukraine and settle in the West" and "Ukraine is a concentration camp that restricts the rights of the population, particularly men" – with the obligatory "clarification" that Ukrainians do not want to defend their land and their country.

However, sociology shows a completely different picture.

"The results of the survey show that in fact, the majority of Ukrainians (in particular, Ukrainian men of mobilization age and younger/middle-aged women) want to stay in Ukraine despite all the difficulties and risks. The image of a young man crossing the Tisza River or a young woman leaving for a better life in Europe, which is common in the media, is not representative of men and women in Ukraine. Of course, there are problems, but Ukrainians keep faith in Ukraine, keep faith in a better future, and demonstrate their willingness to stay and work to achieve their dream future," emphasized Hrushetsky.

The survey was conducted on September 1-6 via telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers in all government-controlled regions of Ukraine. A total of 1022 respondents who remain in Ukraine took part in the survey. The margin of error does not exceed 4.1% for figures close to 50%, 3.5% for figures close to 25%, 2.5% for figures close to 10%, and 1.8% for figures close to 5%.

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