The growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Ukraine in January-August 2021 accelerated to 2.9% compared to 2.1% in January-July 2021, the Ministry of Economy has said.
“In January-August 2021, according to the calculations of the Ministry of Economy, the composite production index (CIP) grew by 2.1% (by 1.3% in January-July 2021, a fall of 5.8% in January-August 2020), GDP – by 2.9% (2.1% in January-July 2021, a fall of 5.7% in January-August 2020),” the ministry said in the August survey of economic activity published on Monday.
As the ministry said, in August 2021, an increase in production volumes was demonstrated by almost all types of economic activity, except for wholesale trade, which was supported by a high price level on global commodity markets, an active increase in agricultural production, and optimistic business sentiments amid the “green” level of epidemic danger throughout territory of the country.
“The existing recovery growth does not allow us to speak of a full-fledged post-crisis economic recovery, this requires more time. In addition, the internal economic recovery is also influenced by global changes and risks,” the Economy Ministry said.
Among the pressure factors is the aggravation of political and economic relations between individual countries, Russia’s abuse of a dominant position in the gas market and a sharp rise in gas prices, as well as the spread of a new wave of a mutated strain of coronavirus in the world.
As reported, in 2020, the Ukrainian economy fell by 4%. This year, the Ministry of Economy and the government expect growth by 4.1%, and the National Bank – by 3.8%.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, during his visit to Georgia and Ukraine next week, will urge these countries to carry out the transformations necessary to qualify for NATO membership, the Pentagon has said.
“Austin will stress in both Georgia and Ukraine that there is an open door to NATO and encourage the nations to make the changes necessary for them to qualify for membership in the defensive alliance,” the U.S. Department of Defense has reported.
As reported, Austin will visit Romania and Belgium after Ukraine and Georgia. In Brussels, the head of the Pentagon will hold a meeting with the defense ministers of the NATO countries. According to the Pentagon, this meeting is expected to discuss Russia, as well as problems from China.
Earlier, the Pentagon said Austin was going on a trip to Europe that weekend. In Georgia, he will meet with Prime Minister of this country Irakli Garibashvili and Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, and in Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Andriy Taran.
In Romania he will meet with President Klaus Iohannis and Defense Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca.
Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (UAH for $1, IN 01.09.2021-39.09.2021)
Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (UAH for ₽1, in 01.09.2021-30.09.2021)
The premiere of the first program devoted to summing up the results of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence in the economic and social spheres took place on the Experts Club Youtube channel.
In the pilot issue devoted to the demographic situation in our country, the founder of the Experts Club, PhD in Economics Maksim Urakin and the leading researcher at the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, PhD in Economics Lidiya Tkachenko, analyzed the main trends in changes in the population of Ukraine over the past 30 years, studied the historical data and UN forecasts for the next century.
The guest of the program noted that Ukraine has one of the worst demographic indicators in the post-Soviet space. According to her, this is primarily due to a sharp decline in the birth rate in the second half of the 1990s, early 2000s.
“Since Soviet times, one of the biggest problems of increasing the birth rate has been mass abortions, which have actually become a tool for regulating the population. At the same time, the birth rate until 1990 remained relatively high – on average 2-3 children per family on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR,” the expert noted.
She also added that today the birth of a child in a Ukrainian family is a “heroic act” due to the difficult socio-economic situation, so a surge in the birth rate cannot be expected in the coming decades.
Tkachenko stressed that since the 1960s, there has been practically no positive dynamics in life expectancy in Ukraine. The average age of both men and women in our country is now about the same as it was 60 years ago, despite a significant global progress in the field of medicine and health care.
“This situation is typical for both the late USSR and the post-Soviet period. At the same time, the countries of both Western and Eastern Europe, even those that were part of the socialist camp, showed much more positive dynamics,” the scientist added.
For more details on the analysis of the demographic situation in Ukraine, see the video posted on the Experts Club channel:
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DEMOGRAPHY, EXPERTS CLUB, LIDIYA TKACHENKO, POPULATION, URAKIN, ВІДЕО
