Ukraine Economics.
How do people live in Ukraine?

Ukraine economics. Don't expect to find a deep analysis of the Ukraine economical situation on this page. I am not an expert on economics, but I wrote this page because numerous people have questions about living in Ukraine .

Why do people ask those questions? Sometimes it is just curiosity. Someone has a business interest about Ukraine statistics and economics. Other people are planning to move to Ukraine or have relatives and friends in Ukraine and would like to understand their life better.

Some say; "There are as many points of view on the same subject as there are individuals." This is certainly true when it comes to economics. All people are different and so are the things they value and appreciate in this life are different also.

Talking about Ukraine economics from a non expert point of view, I'll try not to express my own opinion about the subject. Still some will say that it is wrong, I'll just tell you what I see in the streets and provide some information from the monthly Report of the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine to help you understand for yourself.

Ukraine has changed a lot in recent years. So much so that a person visiting Ukraine who has not visited in several years will be surprised to see many changes since they last visited. Here are some things which might catch your attention in the big city right away.

• There are many construction works and new buildings. Newly built modern suburbs, trade centers, redesigned streets and old buildings are being restored. Guess what kind of new businesses you will see the most often? If you guessed drug stores, churches, casinos or restaurants, you are correct. They are literally around each corner. It looks like they are the countries vital necessities.


• Ukraine and the Soviet Union always had and still have a very well developed system of public transportation. Quite understandably not many families could or were able to buy a car and therefore the public transportation systems had to develop out of necessity. Nowadays everything is rapidly changing.

  The city streets are overflowing with cars. But the cities were not designed for so many drivers and as a result, you can hardly drive your car downtown and pedestrians sometimes are not even able to cross the roads even on their green light. Cars end up being parked every where there is available space, pedestrian passes, parks, squares and wherever else they can fit.

• An enormous number of options exist where something can be bought and sold, trade centers, stores, malls and booths in the streets. Some people even just place a piece of plastic or a newspaper on the ground and display their goods for passersby.

  Needles to say, that there are a lot of stores where variety of choices and quality of goods and groceries are very impressive. None of Wal-Mart's or Meijer's stores look as attractive as those Ukrainian stores.

• Unfortunately very many streets of the big cities look extremely dirty. It looks like all city services are busy with something else but their direct duties.

Ukraine economics, despite all that mess we can watch in our political life (September, 2008), is growing. What about Ukraine people? Do they have better lives in Ukraine than they had 10-15 years ago? Ukraine has been and is a country of big contrasts. There are many reasonably successful people in Ukraine, but at the same time according to the official statistics things don't necessarily look so good.

• 13.2 million Ukrainians (29.3% of total population, 2007) live below the official poverty level (532 UAH).


• An average Ukrainian family spends 55 % of their total income buying food.


• Population debt for used utilities is 8 milliards UAH.


• The average age of the Ukraine population rapidly grows from year to year. As of 2008 there are 9 pensioners for every 10 working people in Ukraine.


• There is also the constant decrease in the size of the population in Ukraine, 2.2 million people lower in 2008 than in 2001.

Official statistics about Ukraine economics reflect only a part of the total picture since a significant sector of Ukrainian economics still stays "gray" and is not accessible for research. Very many people just get their salaries in the envelopes and no statistics can accurately describe the actual level of income for the Ukraine population.

Most likely it is very true that an average level of income is higher (how much no one knows for sure) than that shown by official statistics. At the same time it is very true and quite typical that a person who has a PhD in engineering and has worked for 32 years in his field has a monthly pension equal to 544 UAH / 116 USD (the minimum for Ukraine). Perhaps something is still not right in our Ukraine economics.

For those of you who are wondering about living in Ukraine, there are more details about Ukraine statistics and economics at Ukraine Money page. There you will find out what Ukrainians can afford to buy for their salaries and realize what kind of income you will need to have in order to maintain a decent standard of living in Ukraine.

Would you like to know how a typical Ukrainian family spends their money? Check a Living in Ukraine page.

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