Internally Displaced Ukrainians Face Continuing Economic Challenges

A survey released on Wednesday, August 3, by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), revealed that 60% of Ukraine’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who had jobs before the war are now unemployed.

The minimum wage in Ukraine is approximately $180 per month, however the survey, which was conducted from July 17 to July 23, found that 35% of IDPs reported a total household monthly income of roughly just $137.

The survey also found that 9% of Ukraine’s IDP’s reported they had not made any income at all since the war first began.

“6.6 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine,” the subsequent report claims. “The share of displaced population represents 15% of Ukraine’s general population and has slightly grown from the end of June when IOM assessed the number of IDPs at about 6.3 million. The recent movements were predominantly recorded from the east, south, and north of Ukraine.”

Some, however, are now beginning to return. In fact, around 5.5 million Ukrainians who were displaced during the past half-a-year have now been able to come back, and from those who left the country since Russia began its full-scale invasion on February 24, 16% are said to have now returned to their residences.

Figures from the United Nations indicate that 6.3 million Ukrainians are internally displaced, and 6.2 million Ukrainians are now located elsewhere in Europe, from a total pre-war Ukrainian population of roughly 40 million. With about 30% of the population displaced, a return to normality is not expected to be a quick affair.

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Recent reports by Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance indicated that Ukraine’s unemployment rate is now 35%. It would appear, however, that the Ministry’s report did not account for the millions of Ukrainians who have left the country.

A United Nations official said last week that roughly one-out-of-every-three Ukrainians was dealing with hunger as a result of the war. The rapid rise of inflation of the Ukrainian national currency, the Hryvnia, has eaten the value of citizens’ savings and emaciated the purchasing power of their earnings.

According to Ukrainian Government projections, it will take several years after the war ends for the unemployment rate to go back down to pre-war levels.