Every fifth IT specialist is already abroad – thousands of IT professionals left Ukraine in 2023

Between 8,000 and 15,000 IT specialists left Ukraine in 2023.

This information comes from IT Research Resilience, featured in a joint study by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, AI HOUSE, and Roosh.

The study indicates that more than 20% of Ukrainian IT specialists are now abroad, and this number is increasing. The number of IT specialists abroad grew from 50-57 thousand in 2022 to 65 thousand in 2023. Overall, the total number of IT specialists in Ukraine increased to 307 thousand in 2023, up from 285 thousand in 2022.

“Active migration of specialists abroad due to the war leads to a shortage of qualified personnel in the domestic market, hindering the industry’s development,” the study states.

It’s worth noting that according to data from Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation, 700 thousand people in Ukraine have been exempted from mobilization. He expressed dissatisfaction that very few IT specialists have been exempted – only 4 thousand people, which is 1.5% of the 300 thousand Ukrainian IT employees.

Earlier reports indicated that a new bill on economic exemptions from mobilization was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. The initiators of the project propose allowing exemptions for employees for whom an increased military levy of 20 thousand UAH (less than 500 euros) per month is paid.