A survey conducted among Ukrainian refugees in Slovenia has shown that an overwhelming majority feel safe in the country, but they also face several challenges, including getting a job.

The survey, called a Multi-Sector Needs Assessments, was commissioned by the UNHCR from the Slovenian Migration Institute at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU).

The institute interviewed 193 adult refugees representing 391 household members in December 2023 in what survey assistant Špela Kastelic says is the first study on Ukrainian refugees in Slovenia.

The survey, presented in Ljubljana on 25 September, covered several areas, including health, employment, education and the well-being of Ukrainian refugees.

It is estimated that there are currently over 8,000 persons with temporary protection from Ukraine in Slovenia. On average they have a very high level of education, Kastelic said.

Women represented 67% and men 33% of the households surveyed, 37% were children and 10% were over 60 years old. Women head 86% of the households, 57% of the households have children and 7% persons with disabilities.

Majority plan to stay in Slovenia

Asked about their plans for the coming three months, 84% would like to stay in Slovenia and 8% are considering returning to their homeland, while 1% are thinking of moving to another country.

Most feel safe in Slovenia; 93% feel safe in their neighbourhood, and 86% do not perceive any safety risks, against 14% who do, including the possibility of robbery, exploitation, verbal harassment or physical violence.

Since their arrival in Slovenia, 17% of respondents or their household members have experienced some form of hostility such as verbal aggression (53%) and negative comments on social media (28%) or discrimination in looking for a job or place to stay.

Officials presenting the survey pointed out that the heads of the households surveyed provided answers for themselves as well as for the children and other members of households.

Only a quarter employed

Most Ukrainian refugees came to Slovenia from Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, between March and May 2022. 91% of the respondents had lived in Slovenia for more than a year by December 2023 and 98% had temporary protection status.

About nine out of ten are living in private accommodation, either shared (24%) or on their own (63%) across the country. Only 5% live in collective sites and 2% in hotels or hostels.

A quarter of the working-age refugees are employed, 54% are unemployed and the remaining 21% are inactive, either because unable or unwilling to work. Before leaving Ukraine, only 3% were unemployed.

The unemployed cited the inability to speak the local language, inadequate job opportunities compared with their skills and lack of decent employment conditions (low pay, working hours, informal work) as the main reasons for being out of work.

3% of children out of school

The respondents listed employment, healthcare and language courses as their priority needs.

In the past 30 days before having the interviews, 75% of households received social benefits; 68% from Slovenia, 6% from Slovenia and Ukraine and 1% only from Ukraine.

93% of the respondents' children are enrolled in primary or secondary school in Slovenia, 4% attend Ukrainian schools remotely and 3% are out of school. Meanwhile, 79% of the children attend distance learning from Ukraine in Slovenian schools.

Issues accessing health services

Fifteen percent of the refugees reported facing difficulties in obtaining the necessary health services, the main reasons being issues with arranging appointments, language barriers and financial constraints.

The survey also showed that 38% of respondents or their household members are in need of mental health and psychosocial support. The primary obstacles they say prevent them from seeking aid include not knowing where to find it, language barriers and procrastination.

According to Kastelic, refugees mostly receive only basic healthcare and do not have access to secondary or tertiary levels of the health system.

"This means that people with chronic illnesses and longer-term therapies that they received in Ukraine are now unable to receive them or face high costs for therapies in the private sector," she said.