Ukrainians accounted for the largest number of foreign nationals in the Czech Republic, followed by citizens of Slovakia and Vietnam. Credit: Freepik.
Prague, Dec 13 (CTK) – The number of foreign nationals legally residing in the Czech Republic rose by 455,305 to 1.12 million people at the end of last year, accounting for a tenth of the population, according to data released by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) today.
Last year’s newcomers were mainly refugees from the war-torn Ukraine. Ukrainians also accounted for the largest number of foreign nationals in the Czech Republic, over 630,000, followed by citizens of Slovakia and Vietnam.
“Citizens of Ukraine began coming here in the early 1990s, mainly for work, but their numbers were low at that time,” said Jarmila Maresova, migration expert from the department of labour, migration and equal opportunities at the Czech Statistical Office. “Over time, the Ukrainian population has increased to 636,000 registered persons by the end of 2022. The share of Ukrainian citizens has thus reached almost 60% of the total number of foreigners in our country.”
Most foreign nationals live in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. According to CSU, there were about 345,300 foreign nationals in the capital and 159,000 in Central Bohemia last year.
CSU chairman Marek Rojicek said last year’s increase was mainly due to foreign nationals with some type of temporary residence. By the end of December last year, 70% of foreign residents had a temporary residence permit and about 30% a permanent residence permit.
There were 2,456 foreign citizens with asylum in the Czech Republic.
Last year, the proportion of women among foreigners in the Czech Republic increased significantly due to the arrival of mothers with children from Ukraine. “The representation of women (…) reached a majority of 51.1% for the first time in the entire period of monitoring migration statistics in our country,” the statisticians said.
In 2021, the share of women among foreigners in the country was 43.5%.
