The WIC Colloquium series is organized by the Vienna Institute of Demography as part of its involvement in the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital. This installment of the series will focus on the socio-demographic characteristics and return intentions of Ukrainian refugees in Vienna.

As of July 2022, almost six million Ukrainians have fled the ongoing war in Ukraine. Neighboring countries like Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, but also Western European countries, most notably Germany and Austria, have accepted thousands of refugees and are providing shelter. Two surveys were conducted simultaneously between April and June in Vienna and Kraków to investigate socio-demographic characteristics, return intentions, attitudes, and values.

At the colloquium, Olena Tarasiuk, research scholar in the IIASA Population and Just Societies Program, will present the survey results together with Judith Kohlenberger from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and Isabella Buber-Ennser from the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID).

The presentation will focus on Ukrainians in Vienna and researchers will discuss differences and similarities with Ukrainians surveyed in Kraków. The results suggest a highly selective (upper) urban Ukrainian middle-class in Austria and, to a lesser degree, in Poland, who had the resources to travel, work, and study abroad before the war. The further Ukrainian refugees move from their home country, the higher their educational attainment, which correlates with their socioeconomic background and impacts return intentions.

Please register for participation until 20 September 10:00 CEST.

Watch a recording of a previous VID webinar "High self-selection of Ukrainian refugees in European host countries" below: