What Changes Occurred in the Socio-Political and Migration Processes in Ukrainian Society due to the War — the Results of the Seventh Wave of Study

The research company Gradus Research has completed the seventh wave of the study of the socio-political and migration moods of Ukrainians during the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. The study is conducted with the financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Center for Economic Recovery. What dynamics in migration, employment, income levels and other aspects of social life during the war do the results show?

There are no significant changes in migration patterns of Ukrainians

61% of respondents stayed at home, 40% changed their place of residence (23% of them continue to stay in their new place, and 17% have already returned). In the current wave, the share of those who went abroad decreased significantly (from 23% to 19%) due to a slight increase in those who reported migration within their region (from 18% to 20%) and departure to other regions within Ukraine (from 58% to 61%).

In the current wave of the study, the share of people who are currently abroad and hesitate to answer about their intentions to return to Ukraine has increased (from 13% to 25%). In general, 55% of respondents say they want to return to Ukraine at the first opportunity, while 20% want to stay at their new place of residence. At the same time, the distribution of answers regarding the possibility of staying in a new place remained unchanged: 69% — have such a possibility, and 10% — do not have it.

Employed Kyiv and Central region residents become more numerous

Although the overall level of employment compared to the previous wave of the study increased only by 3 points (from 56% to 59% of people who currently have a job), there is a positive trend, and it is observed among those who stayed at home: among the residents of Kyiv and Central region, we see a significantly higher share of those who have a job and are actively working.

Among internal migrants in the current wave of the survey, there is also a positive trend — the share of those who have a job increased by 7%, and it currently stands at 36%.

Money and access to work continue to be among the greatest needs of Ukrainians

In general, respondents who stayed at home are less likely than the sample in general to need access to work (30% vs 34%) and housing (6% vs 13%), while internal migrants, on the contrary, need it more often (43% vs 34% — access to work and 23% vs 13% — housing), as well as opportunities to travel abroad (19% vs 16%).

External migrants more often express the need for housing (21 vs 13%) and access to health care (19% vs 13%), while they are less likely to need money (50% vs 66%), access to work (25% vs 34%), products (14% vs 23) and opportunities to travel abroad (8%).

Ukrainians' trust in institutions also remains consistently high: respondents show the highest percentage of trust in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (62%), the President of Ukraine (44%) and volunteer organizations (30%).

Full report on the results of the study is available on the Gradus Research website.

The survey was conducted by the research company Gradus Research by the method of self-filling the questionnaire in the mobile application with the financial support of the European Commission and in partnership with the Center for Economic Recovery. The Gradus online panel displays the population structure of cities with more than 50,000 residents aged 18-60 by gender, age, settlement size and region. Research period: 1st wave — May 20-22, 2nd wave — June 3-6, 3rd wave — June 17-20, 4th wave — July 1-4, 5th wave — July 15-18, 6th wave — July 29 - August 1, wave 7 — August 12-15. The sample size in the 7th wave is 2005 respondents.