In the first half of 2024, 87,655 children were born in Ukraine, which is 9% less than in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, 250,972 deaths were recorded. The largest number of babies and deaths in Ukraine were in Dnipropetrovs’k and Kyiv regions.
The birth rate decreased by 1.5 times this year compared to the period before the full-scale invasion: 87,655 children compared to 132,595 in 2021.
The highest number of newborns was registered in Kyiv – 9,695 children, 7,923 in Lviv region, and 6,962 in Dnipro region. The number of babies born in the frontline regions is consistently low: in Kherson (221) and Donetsk (702). In the Luhansk region, no babies were registered in the last six months.
Currently, there are three deaths for every newborn citizen. This ratio is one of the key indicators of the demographic crisis. For comparison, in the pre-civil war period, there were two deaths per child in 2018-2020.
250,972 people died in Ukraine in the first six months of 2024. This is 1.4 times less than in the same period in 2021, when 349,041 deaths were recorded. However, it is worth noting that 2021 was the peak year for deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lowest number of deaths occurred in the frontline Kherson (2334) and Donetsk (5753) regions and in Chernivtsi (5422). Anti-record numbers were set in Dnipropetrovs’k region (26,374), Kharkiv region (17,999), and Kyiv (17,449).
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/birth-death-2024-6
Turkey has ratified a free trade agreement with Ukraine, Anadolu quoted the country’s official newspaper as saying on Friday.
The agreement was signed on Feb. 3, 2022, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the deal and its annexes on Thursday.
Turkey-Ukraine bilateral trade volume in 2023 totaled $7.3 billion, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Thursday after meeting with Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko.
According to him, the trade volume is expected to increase to $10 billion within a short period of time under the said agreement.
The main areas of trade between the two countries are ferrous metallurgy, machine building, energy, automobile and grain.
According to Opendatabot, more than 228 thousand cars were imported into Ukraine in 7 months of 2024, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is 14.2% more than last year. 71% of all imported cars this year were used. This year, the average age of imported cars is 9 years. Demand for electric cars increased by 83%.
228,319 vehicles were imported to Ukraine in the first 7 months of 2024. This is 14.2% more than in the same period of 2023, when 199,980 cars were imported.
71% of the cars imported this year were used. Currently, the average age of imported used vehicles is 9 years. 42% of used cars imported to Ukraine are 10 years old or older.
Most of the newly imported cars were registered in Kyiv – 13.7%. Lviv (10.2%) and Odesa (7.4%) regions are also in the top 3.
Ukrainians are in stable demand:
VOLKSWAGEN – 25,498 cars (11.2%)
RENAULT – 17,479 cars (7.7%)
AUDI – 13,173 cars or 5.8%.
In terms of models, SKODA OCTAVIA was imported the most – 5,047 units. The next positions were taken by VOLKSWAGEN GOLF and VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT – 4,965 and 4,147 cars respectively.
Gasoline cars remain the most popular – almost every second car imported this year. Diesel cars accounted for 27.5% of the cars imported this year. Despite the fact that imports of electric cars increased 1.8 times over the year, they accounted for only 13.1% of newly imported cars in total.
Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine intend to cooperate in the restoration of cultural infrastructure.
“We are working on bringing the storage facilities for cultural property in museums in line with technical requirements. We also need the creation of a specialized depository, in particular, the development of project documentation and financial support for technical re-equipment. In addition, another global project is the renovation of the National Restoration Center. This institute is working at the maximum of its capabilities, but in rented unsuitable premises. We have already found premises for re-location. Now it will be necessary to re-equip and improve the qualifications of employees”, – Acting Minister Rostislav Karandeev is quoted by the press service of the Ministry after a meeting with the team of the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation JICA.
Ot also noted the information challenges, said that Ukraine is actively strengthening work with the frontline territories, the most exposed to the influence of enemy propaganda, and emphasized the interest in cooperation in information support of these regions.
“Our team is engaged in the reconstruction of Ukraine. We are providing assistance that aims to provide emergency needs, but we are also interested in cooperation on cultural issues because we understand its potential,” Naomichi Murooka, deputy director general of the Local and Regional Development Group of the Infrastructure Management Department of JICA’s head office, said at the meeting.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham) opposed Bill #11416 regarding amendments to the tax law because it would discriminate against bona fide transparent taxpayers, encouraging tax evaders and increasing the shadow economy.
“Any proposed change should reflect sound tax policy and a commitment to tax compliance and tax fairness. Unfortunately, the recently proposed tax policy changes (Bill No. 11416) do not meet these principles and will further discriminate against transparent businesses, increase the distortion of competition between taxpayers and tax evaders, undermine trust and contribute to an increase in the shadow economy,” the association emphasized in a statement released by the press office on Thursday.
AmCham called on the government and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine to intensify efforts to combat the shadow economy to ensure budget revenues and fair competition.
It is noted that the association estimates that losses from illegal markets for excisable goods in the last year alone exceed $1 billion.
“Other examples illustrate the seriousness of this problem in many sectors of the economy. For example, the share of the shadow market of iPhones alone is 71%, which results in losses to the State Budget from non-payment of VAT amounting to about $135 million, while losses from tax evasion by fixed Internet providers approach $100 million annually. In the HoReCa sector, only five companies pay 31% of all taxes paid in the restaurant business, while there are more than 40,000 restaurants in Ukraine,” the association claims.
It is emphasized that the biggest concern in the proposed tax changes is the 1% profit tax, which will be applied to the income of businesses.
AmCham believes that it is such a tax that should not be introduced as it is a completely new sales tax alongside the existing VAT tax regime.
“As far as we know, no country in the world has a sales tax and VAT at the same time, as it is proposed in Ukraine,” the association stated.
AmCham has no doubt that the proposed changes will significantly increase the overall tax burden on bona fide taxpayers who report their income in a transparent and legal manner, will encourage participants of the shadow economy to redouble their tax evasion efforts as the rates will become even higher, will create significant difficulties for doing business in Ukraine, will demotivate existing businesses to invest further, and will force new investors to reconsider their business plans, will reduce foreign direct investment in Ukraine, and will reduce the tax burden on the Ukrainian economy.
In addition, the association opposed discrimination against bona fide, legitimate taxpayers due to the introduction of new taxes, such as the proposed excise tax in euros on sweetened carbonated waters, aimed primarily at U.S. and international companies.
At the same time, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine understands the urgent need to broaden the tax base by extending the military levy to all categories of private entrepreneurs as well as legal entities to ensure that all taxpayers contribute to financing the fight.
However, the association’s experts believe that a sharp one-time increase in the military levy to 5% could lead to a decrease in real wages and increase the attractiveness of informal employment, so we call for a more gradual approach to increasing this percentage.
AmCham also welcomes the government’s determination to “level the playing field” by preventing unfair competition from businesses that evade tax or benefit from preferential treatment.
To this end, it is proposed to abolish the EUR150 limit on cross-border e-commerce, which makes all such parcels subject to VAT, as this is in line with European and international practice and will significantly increase tax revenues to the budget.
The Chamber is convinced that the source of additional tax revenues is the fight against tax evasion and ensuring equal rules for all, rather than increasing taxes for bona fide taxpayers, who already bear the greatest burden.
It is emphasized that discrimination against bona fide taxpayers will harm transparent business and significantly increase the shadow economy.
AmCham calls on parliament and the government, with the support of the IMF, EU and G7 member states, to ensure that taxes are distributed among all market participants so that new tax policies do not disproportionately target bona fide taxpayers in Ukraine to the detriment of further economic growth and investment.
On July 23, 2024, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal held a diplomatic reception on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the Revolution of July 23, 1952.
On July 23, Egypt celebrates a public holiday – the Day of the Revolution of 1952, which resulted in the overthrow of the feudal monarchical regime of King Farouk and the establishment of a republic.
In 1953, Egypt was proclaimed a republic. Since 1971, the official name of the country is the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The solemn event on the occasion of the holiday was attended by honored guests: heads of diplomatic missions of foreign countries accredited in Ukraine, representatives of the leadership of state authorities, including Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Maksym Subkh, Islamic religious figures, members of the Egyptian diaspora, educators and cultural figures.
At the beginning of his speech, Ambassador of Egypt to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal congratulated all those present on an important date in the history of the Arab Republic of Egypt, highlighted the main stages of Egypt’s formation as a sovereign country and economic achievements over the past 10 years – during the revolution that took place on June 30, 2013 and the establishment of the third Egyptian Republic in 2014.
In his speech, Mr. Ambassador emphasized that our countries have established close friendly relations in political, economic, commercial and investment spheres.
“The trade balance between Egypt and Ukraine before the coronavirus pandemic and the current war was $2.1 billion, and in 2023 it amounted to about $1.3 billion. Egypt is still the main trading partner for Ukraine in Africa and the Middle East and the seventh trading partner in the world, and the beginning of this year shows progress in returning the trade balance to pre-war levels,” the diplomat said.
He also emphasized that Egypt and Ukraine have a long history of cooperation in the space sector, and the first Egyptian satellite was designed and built in Ukraine with the participation of Egyptian experts.
In his speech, the Head of the Diplomatic Mission elaborated on the recent history of Egypt after the 1952 revolution, when his country witnessed the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973, where more than 30% of the country, namely the Sinai Peninsula, was occupied for 6 years and, like Ukraine, underwent severe trials.
However, Egypt managed to liberate all of its lands not only through military force, but mainly through diplomacy, applying to the International Court of Justice to return the last disputed territory, the Egyptian city of Taba, even 16 years after the end of hostilities in 1973.
Drawing on this page of history, the Ambassador emphasized his country’s unwavering position in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as these principles have defined Egypt’s position on all conflicts, including Ukraine, since 2014.
“In addition, Egypt believes that no conflict can be resolved by military means alone, as diplomacy plays a primary role in resolving any conflict, so we participated in the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on the Ukrainian Crisis, which was established by the Arab League and at the initiative of African presidents after the outbreak of full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. During the OAS Summit27 , President Al-Sisi called on world leaders to work toward a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine. In addition, Egypt supports all efforts of the parties to resolve the conflict peacefully,” the diplomat said.
On behalf of the Ukrainian government, the Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa, Ukrainian diplomat and historian Maksym Subkh expressed congratulations on the occasion.
