Two-thirds of Ukrainians wish to leave country

The number of Ukrainians wishing to leave their home country has grown over 1.5-fold in the past two years, from 42% to 65%, the TNS marketing company said in a report published on its website after the July 2016 poll.

"Some 65% of respondents said they were ready to leave the country, yet a third of them were unable to do so; 8% wished to leave and come back upon stabilization, and 20% wanted to take permanent residence abroad," the report said.

The share of people wishing to permanently live abroad has doubled since August 2014, while the number of those who wish to leave the country but cannot do so is up 14%.

Readiness to permanently move abroad is most frequently expressed by men (24%).

Fourteen percent of people living in Western Ukraine are ready to temporarily leave the country, and 12% of the Western Ukraine population has not given a thought to this idea, the marketing company said.

Only 20% of the younger generation has no intention of leaving the country, and the indicator stands at 34% in the senior group, TNS said.

The online poll was conducted amongst 1,000 respondents aged from 18 to 55 across Ukraine on July 16-21, the agency said.

TNS is a major international marketing company headquartered in London.