Annual Report. PATRIARCHAL CURIA UGCC 2019

74 Pastoral care to the UGCC faithful abroad and missionary activity in Ukraine Mass migration phenomenon After Ukraine gained independence in 1991, the cross-border mobility of Ukraine’s population grew significantly. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country opened up to the world and its citizens could fully exercise the right of freedom of move- ment. Ukrainians first opportunity to enjoy this right to freedom of movement coincided with the deep structural transformation of the economy, accompanied by falling living standards and increased unemployment. This stimulated labor migration , which in the late 1990’s became a mass phenomenon which provided source of income for many families. According to a study conduct- ed under the IOM project in 2014-2015, about 700,000 Ukrainian citizens were working abroad (Migration as an Enabler of Devel - opment in Ukraine. – K: IOM, 2016. http://www.iom.org.ua/sites/ default/files/iom_migration_as_an_enabler_of_development_in_ ukraine.pdf) . There are from 8.2 million (according to the foreign countries’ census) to 20 million (according to various estimates) people of Ukrainian origin living abroad The signing of the Association Agreement and the path toward a visa-free regime be- tween Ukraine and the EU led to a series of important reforms in the field of migration management. However, the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in the Donbas trig- gered massive displacement, exacerbated a deep economic crisis and led to the inten- sification of labor migration. The number of Ukrainians residing in the EU is constantly growing. In 2015, there were 905,200 of them. They constituted over 6% of all foreigners from third countries in the European Union. The majority of Ukrainians reside in Italy (238,000), Poland (336,000), Germany (112,000), the Czech Republic (113,000), and Spain (84,000). Over the last several years, we also witnessed the growth of the number of Ukrai- nians who went to study abroad. According to UNESCO, in 2000 – 2012, the number of Ukrainian students abroad increased by more than four times and reached 37,000 . As a result of the fourth migration wave, the old diaspora was greatly increased. New diasporas were formed in the countries where previously there were almost no Ukraini- ans, particularly in southern Europe. According to UN statistics, Ukraine is among the top ten countries with the highest emigration levels and the numbers have increased in recent years. State Statistics Service estimate the number of migrant workers at 1.3 million, while experts say the number varies between 2 and 4 million. Pastoral care to the UGCC fai thful abroad and mi ss ionar y act i v i ty in Ukraine