The Ukrainian War, which this Friday (3) completes 100 days, has already forced at least 6.8 million people to leave their homes in search of safety in neighboring countries. It is as if the entire population of the city of Rio de Janeiro had fled.
The figure, which represents 15% of the Ukrainian population before the conflict, does not count the internally displaced people, who have moved to other cities – these are more than 8 million. The figures make the conflict in Eastern Europe answer for the biggest migratory crisis since the Second World War, with a flow rarely seen in similar situations.
Since the beginning of the war, UNHCR, the refugee agency of the United Nations, has been compiling data provided by the authorities at border points. In that period, an estimated 2.2 million people took the opposite route, towards Ukraine — part is made up of former refugees who returned home, but it is not possible to say how many.
To scale the human drama behind the refugee numbers, the Sheet compared these mass displacements with the population of Brazilian cities.
THE Poland was the country that received the most refugees from Ukraine. In all, 3.63 million people have crossed the border since the beginning of the conflict seeking to settle in the neighbourhood. If the entire population of BrasÃlia had moved, it would not have reached that number.
Interesting to note that the second country that received the largest influx of fleeing Ukrainians is the military power that started the conflict. At Russiathe number of refugees is approaching 1 million: there are 971,400 people, more than the total inhabitants of Duque de Caxias, a city neighboring the state capital and the third most populous city in Rio de Janeiro.
Crossed the border with Hungary 682,600 people came from Ukraine, a contingent that exceeds the total number of residents of the Sergipe capital, Aracaju.
The 563,600 refugees who moved towards the Romania numerically close to the 577,500 inhabitants of the Minas Gerais city of Juiz de Fora, the fourth most populous in the state.
They left Ukraine for Moldova 479,500 people, almost the total number of inhabitants of the city of Mauá, in Greater São Paulo.
Towards Slovakiathe estimated number is 461,200 refugees, a contingent that exceeds the population of the São Paulo city of Mogi das Cruzes.
A Moscow-allied dictatorship received the fewest number of people leaving Ukraine, considering only the invaded nation’s direct neighbors. Even so, the 16,600 people who moved to the Belarus numerically outnumber the residents of Barra Funda, a neighborhood in the west of São Paulo.
Added to these flows, the 6.8 million people who left Ukraine during the 100 days of conflict exceed the population of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
The survey only takes into account those who crossed the land border from Ukraine to neighboring countries — that is, people who left by air or sea are not taken into account. Likewise, the numbers do not include a possible transit of refugees after leaving Ukraine in search of permanent shelter, in another nation close or further away, such as Brazil.
As of April 14, at least 67 border crossings into Ukraine had been reported.
Graphs prepared with data compiled up to 31.May.22. The position of the points in the area of ​​each municipality is random. The population of Brazilian municipalities considers the projection estimated by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) for the year 2021.
​*District population according to the 2010 Census
Sources: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, IBGE and São Paulo City Hall
