As of 31 December 2023, according to national authorities, 375 021 people displaced from Ukraine have registered for temporary protection in Czechia. This report summarises the findings of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the displacement patterns, needs, and intentions of these displaced persons, via the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and based on 5 010 questionnaires completed between 2 January - 22 December 2023.

Image and text source: IOM Czech Republic, 2024

Key findings

Respondents are often overqualified: 49% respondents of working age report having completed tertiary and higher education. However 68% of female respondents and 50% of male ones work below their qualification-level in Czechia. 

Participation in the labour market is increasing: employment rate among the economically active respondents is 69% (those employed or actively seeking work) while 31% are unemployed. Respondents aged 60-64 are overrepresented among respondents working without written contracts. Women tend to be unemployed and looking for work more often than men (34% versus 20% on average).

Respondents who are not employed but actively looking for a job mention language (69%), family responsibilities (21%), unavailability of job offers (20%), and health issues (19%) as the biggest barriers to finding work.

Most respondents cover their living expenses from more than one source. About one third of them rely only on their income from work (32%), while 13% rely only on money from authorities. Older people have trouble making ends meet: while 31% of all respondents report that they are not able to cover their daily expenses, the rate is more than twice as high among those older 65 years (68%).

The most imminent need at the time of the interview were health services mentioned by 58% of respondents, followed by support with employment (51%), language courses (46%) and long-term accommodation (40%).

56% respondents live in regular rental housing (in apartments, houses), while almost 43% of respondents still live in non-residential housing (in hostels, mass accommodation facilities).

Read the report online in Czech and English.