For the first time there is a representative overview of the million Ukrainian women who have fled to Germany. Your chances of integration are good.
Ukrainian refugees register in Berlin.
Since the beginning of the war, more than a million people have fled to Germany from Ukraine. On November 8, the German Central Register of Foreigners reported 1,025,000 people. This makes Germany the country with the most Ukrainian exiles after Russia and Poland.
Who are the refugees, how do they live in the host country, and what future prospects do they have? The Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research in Nuremberg, together with other administrative bodies, has for the first time conducted a representative study on the origin, social composition and living conditions of the Ukraine refugees submitted.
It confirms much of what the eye and less systematic surveys show:
- It is a predominantly female migration with children.
- The migrants are well to very well educated.
- You have a high integration potential.
- They feel accepted, but suffer from the exile situation.
- Almost 40 percent want to stay longer or forever.
The cause of flight is the war. Unsurprisingly, this is what 96 percent of respondents say. A tenth also said that economic hardship drove them out of the country (multiple answers were possible). The geographical origin also corresponds to the course of the war: Eastern Ukraine (32 percent), the region around Kyiv (19 percent) and the south of the country (14 percent). In other words, areas that have been or are being hit particularly hard by fighting.
Germany is a target country primarily because the Ukrainian women already have family, friends or acquaintances there. This confirms the old rule that refugee movements almost always lead to where a diaspora can help refugees take their first steps in the new world. The directive on temporary protection, which opens access to the labor market and the social system, applies throughout the EU. For Germany, however, the economic strength, the favorable labor market and a well-developed welfare state have a positive effect.
Four fifths of adult refugees are women. Almost half of them have underage children, but a quarter had their partner travel with them. The average age of those who arrived is 28 years, which is far below that at home (41 years). Around three quarters of exiles in Germany have daily contact with their partner in Ukraine.
The average educational level of Ukrainian women is significantly higher than that of the population in their home country, but also exceeds that of their German neighbors: 72 percent of those who have arrived have a university degree. In Ukraine it is about half and in Germany about a third of the population.
These figures are not easily comparable, because the hurdles for the relevant qualifications are higher in Germany. Nevertheless, it is a well-educated, young refugee population that has come to Germany. It is an opportunity not only for its labor market, and its absence would be a heavy loss for Ukraine, which already had a declining population before the war.
Most Ukrainian women have a temporary residence permit, which is valid until March 4, 2024 (and can be extended). If they are asked about their return plans, a complex picture emerges. 27 percent don’t want to say anything about it yet, 2 percent want to go back in a year. A third (34 percent) want to wait until the end of the war and only then make a decision. 37 percent, the largest group, would like to stay in Germany, either forever or at least for several years.
According to all experience, the group that wants to stay will grow as the war goes on. The success of professional integration also plays an important role – and even more important: the future prospects of the children. In 91 percent of the families at least one child attends a German school. At best, the refugee children follow online lessons from the Ukraine as a supplement. Only 3 percent of children are taught exclusively remotely.
Almost a fifth of the parents, mostly mothers, are employed. This is a high value compared to other refugee groups and measured against the short length of stay. Language acquisition is a difficult hurdle. Over 51 percent attend a German course or have already completed it. Thanks to such efforts and the education they have brought with them, a large proportion are already doing qualified work.
Only 9 percent of the refugees live in shared accommodation, three quarters are housed privately, the rest in boarding houses. This contributes to the fact that 74 percent of Ukrainian women feel “mostly or entirely welcome”. Above all, those who have a job also have regular contact with the locals. Both accelerate language acquisition and break through isolation.
Despite many positive findings, the survey also shows that separation, flight and a new beginning are drastic events that are traumatizing for many. It is true that 39 percent of adults describe their health as good or very good (10 percent as bad or very bad). If they are asked about their life satisfaction, the average is 5.8 on a scale of ten (7.5 for Germans).
The psychological well-being of the children is also well below that of their local playmates. They suffer from fear, insecurity and loneliness to an above-average extent.