Iryna Somer, UNIAN
According to the State Border Guard Service, some 3.7 million Ukrainians left their country in 2008-2017, with many of them having no plans to return.
The scale of migration from Ukraine requires that the authorities hold the second-ever All-Ukrainian population census, earlier planned in 2012 and then postponed for 2013, 2016 and now, 2020.
It is impossible to keep accurate records of labor migrants, according to a financial stability report by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
At the same time, according to the State Border Guard Service, some 3.7 million Ukrainians left their country in 2008-2017, with many of them having no plans to return.
According to the NBU's estimates, private remittances from abroad are an important source of foreign currency in Ukraine, ensuring stability of the domestic foreign exchange market, supporting consumption and savings.
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"However, in the long run, mass labor migration creates high risks. It leads to a reduction in potential GDP and excessive pressure on public finances, since migrant workers rarely pay taxes and social contributions," the report says.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank increased the estimate of the volume of private money remittances to Ukraine in 2017 by $2 billion, up to $9.3 billion, or 8.4% of GDP, due to the improvement of the calculation methodology.
According to updated data, the increase in the volume of remittances to Ukraine in 2017 compared with 2016 amounted to $1.8 billion, or 24%.