Ukraine needs 8 million migrants to avoid ‘demographic catastrophe,’ employment rep warns

Ukraine will need to import over 8 million migrants from developing countries to overcome a looming “demographic crisis,” a leading employment sector specialist has said.

Vasily Voskoboinik, president of the All-Ukrainian Association of Companies for International Employment, told the country’s state television on Saturday there was an urgent need for labor migration from countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, India, North Africa and Central Asia.

He said: “According to estimates by the International Organization for Migration and the International Labour Organization, we will need 8.2 million workers. This is a huge problem facing our country.

“We have a demographic catastrophe. Either we encourage our women to have more children, which would take 18–20 years to reflect in the labor market, or we must realistically seek labor migration from other countries.”

He added that with Ukraine’s population currently at approximately 38.5 million, the migrants would represent 17.5% of the country’s population.

According to the National Bank’s latest inflation report, the critical shortage of workers is set to worsen after the war.

Businesses are already facing a deficit of over 3 million workers. In 2024, 500,000 Ukrainians left the country, with another 200,000 expected to depart this year, according to Unian.net.

Voskoboinik said that migrants from lower-income countries are the most feasible solution to Ukraine’s labor shortage, as attracting workers from wealthier nations such as the U.S., U.K., Czech Republic, Hungary or Poland would require significant economic development.

But he pointed out that the idea of importing large numbers of migrants could prove controversial, as the country’s strong national identity, particularly fostered during the war, could lead to a backlash against such a policy.

He added that some migrants may not settle in Ukraine long-term, saying: “Some of them will simply not be able to adapt and will leave the country.

“Some people will probably consider working at this enterprise as a kind of bridge to Europe, where salaries are much higher.”

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