Ukrainians' expenses abroad tripled this year - NBU head
MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Expenditures of Ukrainians abroad in 2022 reached $2 billion a month, which is three times more than the previous year, Ukrainian National Bank (NBU) Governor Andrei Pyshny said, citing the NBU survey of the economic impact on Europe of one of the largest migration waves, which will be published shortly.
"Ukrainian migrants are supporting the economies of European countries - such an unobvious conclusion for many people we have drawn thanks to a survey by experts from our analytical department," the NBU governor said on social media on Saturday night, according to Ukrainian media reports.
Owing to the spending and employment of Ukrainian citizens abroad, the European economy has a positive fiscal effect and a positive impact in the long run, he said.
The NBU head noted that Ukrainians' expenditures abroad are provided by their savings in Ukrainian banks, their labor income in Ukraine and in their host countries, and the social assistance they received.
He noted that in accordance with the estimates of the NBU specialists, based on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) studies and various surveys, due to the contribution of Ukrainian migrants, the GDP, for instance, in Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic in 2026 will be 2.2%-2.3% higher than in the scenario without migration. Since the end of February, the Ukrainians in Poland have paid 10 billion zlotys (about $2.4 billion) in taxes, which is substantially more than the amount of aid provided, Pyshny said, citing another quote from the study.
The NBU head deems fears and negative forecasts of the impact of the multi-million migrant flow from Ukraine unfounded, as they did not take into account the factor of the active stance of the Ukrainian people.
"Our citizens take the initiative in their own hands, rapidly integrate into society, find a job, pay taxes to the countries that sheltered them and spend the money they earned," Pyshny said.
The survey presents interesting data on cross-country distribution of expenses in the retail chains and withdrawal of cash abroad from the cards of Ukrainian banks, he said.
According to the United Nations with reference to national governments, the number of refugees from Ukraine registered for temporary protection or in similar national protection schemes in Europe, as of November 22, 2022, reached 4,751,070. For the month since October 25, the increase was 324,320, while in the previous two months, 242,900 and 214,300, respectively, and since late May, it totaled about 1.8 million.
Poland has the largest number of refugees with the status of temporary protection, precisely, 1,507,890, followed by Germany and the Czech Republic, where the number of refugees from Ukraine registered for temporary protection was 1,021,670 and 462,410, respectively. The five top countries are also Italy with 164,170, and Spain with 154,460.
More than 100,000 Ukrainians were granted this status in the United Kingdom, precisely, 146,200, Bulgaria - 146,030, France and Slovakia - 118.990 and 101,240, respectively.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that there were only 53,470 Ukrainian refugees worldwide who applied for the appropriate status, including 36,490 in Europe by mid-2021.
The Ukrainian community in the world as of mid-2020 was estimated by UNHCR at 6.1 million, including 5 million in Europe.