Ukraine adopted the first Refugee Law in 1993 and started to implement it in 1996. Until 2001 some 5,100 asylum seekers were recognised as refugees of whom 2,459 continued to reside in Ukraine by the 1 January 2005. Most of them originate from Afghanistan (1,290 persons, i.e. 52.5%), 28.8% from former Soviet Union (709 persons, including 188 from Chechen Republic), 13% (318 persons) are African refugees from Congo (96), Sudan (69), Ethiopia (33), Angola (30), and other African countries. There are also 40 Syrian refugees (1.6%), 38 Iraqi refugees (1.5% of refugee population), 27 Iranian and 37 refugees from other Middle-Eastern, Asian or European countries.

More than two thirds of the adult refugee population are male (1,372), around 25% female (462). Around 31% (625) of refugees are below 17 years old, while elderly refugees (75) constitute below 3%.

Around 45% of recognised refugees reside in Kyiv City (943) or Region (167), around 25% in Odessa (610). Another 22 % reside in Kharkiv (198), Lviv (92), Zaporizhzhya (74), Poltava (51), Vinnitsa (47), Khmelnitskiy (39) or Chernivtsi (34). The remaining 8% are spread in 16 other regions - also living in urban rather than rural environments.

Some 1,200-1,400 persons apply for asylum in Ukraine every year, some because they have previous links with this country, some on their way migrating through Ukraine to the European Union. This explains why most applications for refugee status are filed in Kyiv City and Zakarpattia region. Currently some 2,300 asylum seekers await decisions on their cases by government authorities or courts.

During 2004, 1,364 persons submitted asylum applications in Ukraine. Their breakdown by country of origin is as follows:

Country of origin	Asylum seekers
Afghanistan	320
Pakistan	146
Bangladesh	120
India	103
Palestine	72
Iraq	69
Other Asian countries	114
Russian Federation	126
Other NIS	97
African countries	191
Other countries	6
Total	1,364