The Ukrainian state budget for 2025 allocates UAH 14.5 billion for science funding, while the draft (adopted) state budget for 2026 sets this figure at UAH 20.1 billion, according to materials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance.
In the Ministry of Finance’s presentation on the 2026 budget, 3.2 billion hryvnia is earmarked for supporting science on a performance basis, 1 billion hryvnia for creating scientific centers for defense developments, and 0.7 billion hryvnia for projects by young scientists.
At the same time, the latest available official summary statistics on internal expenditures for research and development (R&D) refer to 2024: they amounted to UAH 28.328 billion, which is 32.7% more than a year earlier; R&D intensity (share of GDP) increased to 0.37% from 0.30% in 2023.
According to the summary review, in 2024, 616 organizations were engaged in research and development, and the number of personnel employed in R&D was 63,800.
In terms of the structure of R&D funding in 2024, 30.6% came from the organizations’ own funds, 40.8% from the public sector (including 38.5% from the state budget), 11.6% from the business sector, and 15.9% from foreign sources.
By sector, the business sector accounted for 59.9% of domestic R&D expenditure, the public sector for 33.4%, and the higher education sector for 6.7%.
Ukrainian legislation sets a benchmark whereby the state provides budgetary funding for scientific and scientific-technical activities in the amount of at least 1.7% of GDP.
Compared to the EU, Ukraine’s R&D indicators remain low: according to Eurostat estimates, in 2024 the European Union spent €403.1 billion on R&D, and R&D intensity amounted to 2.2% of GDP (unchanged from the previous year).
The “domestic R&D expenditure” indicator reflects the total expenditure on research and development within the country from all sources. The “funding for science in the state budget” indicators are a narrower snapshot and are not equal to total domestic R&D expenditure.
https://expertsclub.eu/ukrayina-v-2026-r-planuye-201-mlrd-grn-na-nauku/
