Ukraine - IOM is embarking on an 18-month, Canadian-funded study of Ukrainian migration-related patterns.
 
The study, funded by the Government of Canada, will assist the Ukrainian government to develop policies that will help migration to contribute more to development. It will also inform migrants and their families about how remittances from abroad can be used to benefit both themselves and their country.
 
The CAD 400,000 project, Research and Policy Dialogue Initiative on Migration and Remittances in Ukraine, will look at various aspects of migration, the numbers of Ukrainians working abroad, the size of their households, their consumption and savings habits, and remittance flows into Ukraine.
 
The study will also investigate how frequently migrants send money home, the channels that they use, and the socio-economic impact of remittances on households and the economy in general.
 
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, remittances transferred to Ukraine in 2012 amounted to USD 7.5 billion or 4 per cent of the country’s GDP. Of this, USD 4.5 billion was sent home by labour migrants. The rest was sent by the Ukranian diaspora, emigrants and high-skilled professionals working abroad.
 
“This initiative will raise Ukrainian policy-makers' awareness of remittances as an important potential source of investment that can generate sustainable economic growth in their country,” said Canada’s Ambassador in Ukraine, Troy Lulashnyk.
 
The key beneficiaries from the project will be the National Bank of Ukraine, the State Statistics Service and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, all of which will benefit from the availability of primary data and increased understanding of the nature, use and impact of remittances entering Ukraine and also the level of migrants’ savings abroad.
 
“Ukrainian migrants are the biggest investors in Ukraine. Their remittances far exceed direct foreign investment. With this research project, IOM wants to explore ways for Ukrainian migrants, their families, local communities and the government to get more from these money transfers, bearing in mind how other countries successfully link migration and development,” says IOM Ukraine Chief of Mission Manfred Profazi.

For further information please contact

Varvara Zhluktenko
IOM Ukraine
Tel. +38 044 568 50 15 or 067 447 97 92
Email: vzhluktenko@iom.int