Every year since the start of the full-scale invasion, the same question resurfaces – are young people choosing to build their lives in Ukraine? The higher education admissions cycle offers part of the answer. Do secondary school graduates stay to pursue university degrees at home, or do they leave to live and study abroad? This article examines how the number of applicants to bachelor’s programs at Ukrainian universities has changed over the past few years.
Figure 1. Number of applicants (thousands)
Source: Unified State Electronic Database on Education (USEDE)
Compared with the pre-invasion period, the number of applicants has declined (Figure 1). In 2025, 209,000 applicants submitted applications to bachelor’s programs – 6.3% fewer than in 2021, but 4% more than in 2024.
The increase in the number of applicants in 2022 – and especially in 2023 – is primarily attributed to a rise in the number of men aged 25+ enrolling in higher education to pursue a second or third degree. In most cases, the motivation was a deferment from mobilization. After deferments for second and third degrees were abolished, the number of such applicants dropped sharply – from 56,000 applicants aged 25+ in 2023 to 25,000 in 2024.
Overall, despite the challenges of war and the prospect of a better life abroad, a substantial number of applicants continue to choose further education in Ukraine. Clearly, applicant numbers are shaped by demographic factors – first and foremost, the declining number of secondary school graduates. Mykhailo Vynnytskyi, while serving as Deputy Minister of Education and Science, noted that Ukraine has been losing 20-30 thousand graduates every year since 2002 due to demographic changes alone. In other words, the decline in the number of applicants is a long-term demographic trend that the war has only intensified (Figure 2). In addition, not all school graduates plan to enroll in higher education institutions. However, those who do must take the EIT/NMT, so we next examine the number of people who sat these exams.
Figure 2. Number of people who obtained a certificate of complete general secondary education
Source: State Statistics Service of Ukraine
As shown in Figure 3, the number of people taking the EIT/NMT fell by a quarter in 2022 but then rose somewhat. Over the past two years, the ratio of applicants to those who passed the exam has returned to 2020-2021 levels – 65-70% – whereas in 2022-2023, it was almost 100% (test results are valid for several years, so the number of test-takers and applicants does not have to coincide). This may be linked to the cancellation of preferential arrangements that many countries granted Ukrainian applicants after the start of the full-scale invasion (accordingly, while these preferences were in place, only those who were definitely planning to study in Ukraine needed to take the NMT).
Figure 3. Ratio of applicants to those who passed the EIT/MNT
Source: USEDE; Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment (UCEQA)
Has the quality of applicants changed in recent years? In 2020-2022, more than 5% of applicants were not admitted to higher education institutions. In 2024-2025, this share was slightly above 4% (Figure 4). This may reflect both the declining number of applicants and a lower admission “threshold” at universities. However, the difference is too small to draw definitive conclusions.
Figure 4. Distribution of applicants by admission status (thousands)
Source: USEDE
Overall, despite the downward trend in applicant numbers, many young people continue to choose higher education in Ukraine. At the same time, over the past two years, both the number of NMT test-takers and the number of applicants have been gradually increasing.
Photo: depositphotos.com/ua/
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