There are now 3.8 million Ukrainian refugees in the E.U.

[bluewater]

Source: Washington Post

About 3.8 million Ukrainians have sought refuge in the European Union since the Russian invasion, half of whom are children, though the pace of new arrivals is slowing, E.U. officials said.

The latest update on the largest refugee crisis since World War II came after E.U. ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bloc’s response.

The majority of those fleeing the Russian invasion have traveled to neighboring countries, especially Poland, though about 1 million have traveled elsewhere in the bloc, Ylva Johansson, the E.U.'s commissioner for home affairs, said at a news conference in Brussels on Monday. The pace of new arrivals is down to about 40,000 a day from a peak of 100,000 a day, she said.

The E.U., which has been less-than-welcoming to previous waves of refugees, is offering those fleeing Ukraine something called “temporary protection,” which will allow them to live, work and access social services across the bloc. Johansson said about 800,000 people have registered for it, noting that the E.U. is working on a system to better track and register new arrivals.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/28/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-75QCP3AKWJAKZASCAB2U7CDU44

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Because of the brutal Russian invasion, Ukraine's GDP is expected to drop 55% this year:

The Ukrainian government estimated on Monday the economic losses from the Russian invasion, which has been underway for just over one month, at nearly $565 billion (€515 billion)

Ukraine’s economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Facebook that the estimate includes immediate damage plus expected losses in trade and economic activity.

"It should be noted that every day the numbers change and unfortunately they are increasing," said Svyrydenko, who is also a deputy prime minister. Damage to public and private property -- with Russian forces resorting to fierce bombardments that have levelled some cities as their invasion has stalled -- was the biggest element.

Svyrydenko estimated gross domestic product in 2022 would be down by $112 billion (€102 billion), which would be a drop of more than 55 percent of Ukraine's economic activity last year.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220328-live-new-round-of-ukraine-russia-talks-expected-in-turkey-catastrophic-situation-in-mariupol

[progree]

1. Ukraine population, pre-pandemic, pre-invasion

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ukraine-population/

1990, 51,463,105   Peak population
2019, 43,993,638   (down 14.5% from the peak). Fertility rate: 1.48   (2.1 is the approximate replacement level)

Anyway, I wasn't aware until very recently of the population decline was so sizable, though I've known for a long time that fertility rates in most of Europe and Russia have been below replacement levels for some time.

That 3.8 million population loss to other EU countries is another nearly 9% loss.

[Delphinus]

3. Thank you

for this information. That loss doesn't count how many have died in this attack on their sovereign nation either.

[DFW]

2. I'm amazed they have a GDP at all at this point

Ours would be in tatters, too, if L.A., New Orleans, Miami, Chicago, Denver and Boston had been reduced to rubble, New York were under siege, and thirty million Americans had fled to Canada or Mexico.

[bluewater]

4. Indeed.

All the funny memes about plucky farmers notwithstanding.

Ukraine is in a fight for its life against an incredibly brutal invader.

Ukraine's professional military and civil reserve are fighting heroically to protect the Ukrainian people and nation.