THE ADORÉE STUDY 2026 · SETTING THE SCENE

Where Ukrainian women in Europe live, work and raise their children

Before asking anything about relationships, the survey asked where these women were, what they did, and who depended on them. The answers describe a population that is settled, educated, working — and carrying more than one life.

54%

have at least one child in their care. 36% hold a stable job; 29% are still looking for work.

215 respondents18 European countriesMarch–May 2026Published 2026-05-28

The survey sample

Country of residence — five largest groups (18 countries represented)
CountryShare of respondents
Germany18%
France13%
Poland10%
United Kingdom9%
Spain7%
Other European countries (13)By difference; 94% of respondents live in Europe43%
Source: Adorée Study 2026, p. 4.
Employment situation
SituationShare of respondents
Stable job36%
Looking for work29%
Temporary contract16%
Source: Adorée Study 2026, p. 4 and p. 6.
Children in their care
SituationShare of respondents
At least one child54%
Two or more children20%
Source: Adorée Study 2026, p. 4.

The wider picture

The survey figures sit inside a larger displacement that the study documents from institutional sources. They are reproduced here with their origin so they can be checked and cited separately from the survey.

Ukrainian displacement in Europe — institutional figures quoted in the study
IndicatorValue
Ukrainian refugees recorded globally, early 20265.9 million
Share of refugees who are women and children76%
Share hosted in European countriesGermany and Poland alone host over 2.2 million90%
Employment rate, refugees aged 20–64 in Europe22 points below host-country nationals57%
Hold a Master's degree or higher40%+
Employed refugees working below their skill level~60%
Source: UNHCR Operational Data Portal 2026; UNHCR "Labor Market Integration of Ukrainian Refugees in Europe", Jan. 2026; OECD 2023.

What the numbers say

Two things stand out. First, this is a working population: more than four in five respondents are engaged with the labour market, in a group where over 40% hold a Master's degree or higher. The dominant practical problem is not finding a job but doing the work one was trained for — the study calls underemployment "the silent cost of displacement".

Second, more than half are raising children, mostly alone. Only 23% of Ukrainian refugee women in Germany arrived with a partner; a 2024 Czech study found a 74% rate of separation or divorce in original families. Any conversation about their personal future starts from a household that already exists, not from a blank page.

How this shaped Adorée

Family situation and geography are two of the eight dimensions Adorée scores before an introduction is made — and children are treated as a fact to be matched, not a flaw to be explained. Because the population is spread across 18 countries and 63% would consider moving for love, introductions are not limited to the same city.

Questions this chapter answers

Which European countries do Ukrainian women live in?
In the Adorée Study 2026 (215 respondents), the five largest groups were in Germany (18%), France (13%), Poland (10%), the United Kingdom (9%) and Spain (7%), with 18 European countries represented in total. UNHCR data for 2026 puts the largest Ukrainian refugee communities in Germany (about 1.2 million), Poland (about 1 million), Czechia, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.
Do Ukrainian refugee women in Europe work?
Most are engaged with the labour market, but stability is uneven: 36% hold a stable job, 16% work on temporary contracts and 29% are looking for work. UNHCR estimates that about 57% of Ukrainian refugees aged 20–64 in Europe are employed, and that nearly 60% of those employed work below their skill level.
Do Ukrainian women in Europe have children with them?
54% of respondents have at least one child in their care, and 20% have two or more. Solo parenting, often across borders, is the dominant family structure in the sample.
CITE THIS PAGE

Devigne, A. (2026). "Where they live, work and raise their children". Restart — Challenges and quiet wisdom for Ukrainian women building a new life in Europe. Adorée / EU4UA. Survey of 215 Ukrainian women in 18 European countries, March–May 2026. https://clubadoree.com/study

The survey is not statistically representative of the full Ukrainian refugee population in Europe. It is a self-selected sample of women engaged with the EU4UA community. Percentages describe the survey sample only. Full methodology: /study/methodology.

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