Despite the pandemic and full-scale war, the mobility of Ukrainians remained very high. According to the State Border Service, in 2020–2025 (as of the first nine months of 2025), 104.97 million border crossings were recorded to leave Ukraine. At the same time, the entry of foreigners into Ukraine during this period amounted to 16.91 million cases.
Border guards state that the dynamics of departures remained at a consistently high level, changing depending on the circumstances. In the "Covid" year 2020, Ukrainians made 16.54 million departures, in 2021 - 19.60 million, in 2022 - 18.94 million, in 2023 - 17.75 million, in 2024 - 17.83 million. In January-September 2025, another 14.30 million departures were added. In total, this gives more than 104.9 million facts of crossing the border in the direction of departure - both work and long-term departures, as well as short-term trips.
The flow of foreigners to Ukraine dropped sharply in 2022, but later began to recover. In 2020, there were 3.39 million foreign arrivals, in 2021 - 4.27 million; in 2022 the figure fell to 2.31 million, in 2023 it increased to 2.45 million, in 2024 - to 2.55 million, and in the first nine months of 2025 - 1.94 million. This indicates a gradual return of business, humanitarian and tourist activity.
When asked for more detailed statistics — in particular, the number of departures of men aged 15–25 in 2022–2025, as well as the number of foreigners who stayed in Ukraine for three months or more — the State Border Service of Ukraine explained that the service keeps official records of border crossings. Indicators not provided for by state reporting forms are not stored in its databases. The department emphasizes that the volume of crossings directly depends on the socio-economic and security situation in the country.
Statistics show that even in extremely difficult years, Ukrainians remained mobile, and the entry of foreigners after the military failure is gradually recovering. More detailed portraits of migration flows will require the integration of data from other state registers - beyond the capabilities of ordinary border statistics.
