Ministry of Education and Science reported how many Ukrainian schoolchildren remain abroad

Currently, approximately 320,000 to 400,000 school-age children are outside Ukraine. The Ministry of Education and Science admits that it is impossible to establish their exact number, but notes a trend towards a gradual reduction in the number of schoolchildren abroad.

This was reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

According to Minister of Education Andriy Butenko, the statistics remain approximate because many Ukrainian families do not register their children with consulates and embassies. In addition, some children left Ukraine before the full-scale Russian invasion or were born abroad.

"We have data that there are from 320 to 400 thousand Ukrainian school-age children abroad," — noted the minister.

At the same time, the data of the Ukrainian educational system do not cover all children abroad. Some of them study exclusively in schools of the host country and may not be counted in Ukrainian educational statistics at all.

Hundreds of thousands of children maintain connection with Ukrainian schools

Ukrainian children abroad can simultaneously attend a local school and continue to study subjects necessary to maintain connection with the Ukrainian education system.

These are primarily Ukrainian studies components, including Ukrainian language and literature, history of Ukraine, geography, and other subjects not included in the foreign school curriculum.

This mechanism allows not forcing a child to go through two full school programs in parallel. Learning outcomes in general subjects obtained in a foreign school can be recognized in Ukraine, and the child studies Ukrainian subjects separately.

After that, the student can receive a Ukrainian document on education and, upon returning, continue studies in Ukraine or use it for admission to a Ukrainian educational institution.

For Ukrainian families abroad, distance schools, family and external forms of education, as well as Ukrainian educational centers and Saturday or Sunday schools are also available.

The number of students abroad is gradually decreasing

Data from the Ministry of Education and Science in recent years show a gradual decrease in the number of children who, while abroad, remain in the Ukrainian education system.

At the end of the 2024/2025 academic year, there were about 363,000 such students. As of January 1, 2026, the figure decreased to 315,061 students.

At the same time, these figures cannot be directly considered the total number of Ukrainian school-age children abroad: they primarily reflect those students seen by the Ukrainian education system.

The Ministry of Education and Science previously emphasized that one of the main tasks remains maintaining the connection of these children with Ukraine. To this end, the state simplified the recognition of learning outcomes in foreign schools and began officially verifying Ukrainian educational centers abroad.

As of summer 2026, more than 120 such centers in 36 countries have been verified.

Based on materials: LIGA.net, Telegraf, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine