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By December 2024, nearly 6.3m Ukrainian refugees had fled to European countries. Although about 1.2m had returned by early 2024, only 14 percent of the remaining refugees planned to return home soon (Photo: European Comission, 2022)

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EU facing a shrinking population and major east-to-west migration

By December 2024, nearly 6.3m Ukrainian refugees had fled to European countries. Although about 1.2m had returned by early 2024, only 14 percent of the remaining refugees planned to return home soon (Photo: European Comission, 2022)

The European Union faces a structural demographic challenge, with the natural population in decline since 2012, and migration flows no longer expected to keep the population growing after 2026.

The recent influx of Ukrainian refugees has added to a longer-term pattern of emigration from eastern Europe that is affecting that region's workforce shortages and eco...

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