EU granted temporary protection to 4.3M Ukrainians through October

Amid the ongoing war, a total of 4.3 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine were under temporary protection in the European Union as of October 31, according to Eurostat.

Compared to the end of September, the total number of Ukrainians benefiting from temporary protection fell slightly, by 6,170 people.

Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic hosted the largest numbers of beneficiaries, with about 1.3 million, 965,000, and 393,000, respectively. These figures account for 28.6 percent, 22.5 percent, and 9.1 percent of the EU total.

In October, EU countries issued 74,175 new temporary protection decisions, the second-highest monthly total in 2025, following a peak in September when 79,525 decisions were issued.

The rise in numbers comes after a decree by the Ukrainian government at the end of August allowing men aged 18-22 to leave Ukraine without hindrance.

Ukrainian citizens accounted for over 98.4 percent of all temporary protection beneficiaries in the EU.

Adult women represented 43.8 percent of beneficiaries, minors made up almost one-third (30.8 percent), and adult men accounted for 25.5 percent.

The temporary protection status recognised a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine due to the ongoing war, now nearing the four-year mark, and introduced temporary protection measures.

In June, the European Council extended temporary protection for Ukrainians from March 2026 to March 2027.