A new report from the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR breaks down the number of Ukrainian refugees granted asylum by each of the Nordic countries since their country was invaded by Russia in February.
The report is based on materials including interviews with authorities in each of the countries in the Nordic region.
Sweden is the Nordic country to have taken in the most Ukrainian refugees, with a total of 47,700. Second is Finland with 43,000, followed by Denmark with 34,700.
Norway has granted asylum to 31,000 Ukrainians and 1,700 are in Iceland.
Sweden is also the most populous country in the region with around 10.4 million people as of 2021. Denmark has just under 6 million people, with 5.4 million living in Norway.
The populations of Finland and Iceland are 5.5 million and 370,000 respectively.
The refugees taken in by each of the countries are granted protection under either national laws or the EU’s temporary asylum directive from 2001, which has been used for the first time in response to the war in Ukraine.
“Even though we want a quick end to the war, we must assume the conflict could be protracted and that many Ukrainians will stay here,” the report’s author, Anna Berlina, said according to Danish news wire Ritzau.
The temporary EU directive, which was activated on March 4th, was recently extended until March 4th 2024. According to the report, the EU is likely to further extend its directive until March 2025.
The directive requires EU member states to comply with a number of minimum criteria relating to access to health services, the labour market and education.
Denmark’s Ukrainian refugees are covered by a special “Ukrainian law” (Ukrainerlov) adopted by parliament in March.
Berlina said a long-term strategy is needed for refugees from Ukraine.
“This shows the necessity for a long-term plan for how we can best help Ukrainian refugees that have come to the Nordics,” she said.
Source : TheLocal
