Hungary

After the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2014, in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion from Russian and Belarusian territory into northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine. This resulted in mass displacement within Ukraine and abroad, mostly to the EU.

As at 28 January 2024, over 65,000 refugees from Ukraine remained in Hungary, around 80% of whom were women and children. Since March 2022, more than 41,000 people had applied for temporary protection in Hungary, 38,000 of whom had received it.

The main needs identified in the 2024 Regional Response Plan are psychosocial support, employment, healthcare services, and food access. Ukrainian refugees in Hungary face multiple challenges such as language barriers, limited awareness of specialised services, strained local resources, limited income, and the absence of employment opportunities. At the same time, not all refugee children are enrolled in formal educational institutions given language barriers, limited capacity in national schools, stretched resources, shortages of teachers, and frequent bullying. Those enrolled require additional support to access accelerated learning programmes and language training to catch up.

(Atlantic Council 14/02/2023, UNHCR 15/01/2024, UNHCR accessed 30/01/2024, IOM 10/08/2023)