A special report on the sociological study ‘Refugees from Ukraine in Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania’, which was conducted by the EWL Migration Platform, the EWL Foundation for the Support of Migrants on the Labour Market and the Study of Eastern Europe at the University of Warsaw in cooperation with Masaryk University in Brno and the University of Bucharest, was presented in Warsaw.

The report was written after analysing the results of a sociological survey conducted from 13 May to 23 May 2022 in the Czech Republic and Romania and 23 March to 3 April in Poland by the EWL Migration Platform and the Study of Eastern Europe at the University of Warsaw. A total of 1,200 Ukrainian citizens who decided to come to Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania after 24 February 2022 in the wake of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine were surveyed.

According to the report, the main factors determining the decision of refugees from Ukraine to come to Poland were having family in Poland (24%), friends (27%) and cultural proximity of the two countries (36%).

The refugees predominately have a university education (61%). A significant proportion of respondents worked in the services and trade sector before the outbreak of war (27%). Many of the respondents are highly skilled professionals (17%), as well as workers in the education sector (15%). Only 9% of respondents declare a good or very good knowledge of the Polish language; moreover, as many as 80% of refugees had not previously worked in Poland. Despite this, the vast majority of refugees (63%) intend to take up gainful employment during their stay in Poland.

Most refugees want to return to Ukraine immediately after the end of hostilities (56%), however, one in three respondents declares a desire to stay in Poland for longer. A small number of respondents (12%) intend to continue migrating. The most frequently chosen destinations are Germany (26%), the United States (16%), the United Kingdom (11%) and Sweden (10%).

Adrian Andrzejewski