The Ukrainian passport has taken 28th place in the updated 2026 Henley Passport Index and grants visa-free access to 142 destinations. This is according to the global ranking by Henley & Partners.
Regionally, Ukraine ranks ahead of Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, and Georgia.
Singapore remains the leader of the global ranking with 192 destinations offering visa-free or simplified entry. Japan, South Korea, and the UAE are tied for second place with 187 destinations, followed by a group of countries with 186.
Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Pakistan remain at the bottom of the ranking. The Afghan passport was again named the world’s weakest in the March edition of the index, with access to only 24 destinations.
For Ukraine, 28th place signifies the preservation of relatively strong international mobility even amid war and foreign policy turbulence. From a practical standpoint, this is important for labor migration, travel to Europe, business activity, and educational mobility.
The Henley Passport Index is one of the world’s most renowned passport power rankings. It is published by Henley & Partners based on data from IATA, the largest international database on visa regulations, and its own analysis. The index covers 199 passports and 227 destinations and assesses the number of countries and territories citizens can visit without a pre-arranged visa. That is why the ranking is widely used as an international benchmark for freedom of movement, although it reflects visa mobility rather than a country’s overall level of development.
The international consulting firm Henley & Partners has published its ranking of career opportunities for expats—the Henley Opportunity Index 2026—which covers 15 countries with well-established investment migration programs.
According to the study, the ranking includes the following countries: Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, and Greece.
Switzerland topped the ranking with a total score of 86 out of 100. It was followed by Singapore (81), Australia (80), the United Kingdom and the United States (79 each), Canada (78), Austria (69), and the UAE (68). Hong Kong and Italy tied for ninth place (65 points each), while Latvia and Malta tied for tenth (62 points each).
At the bottom of the list are Portugal (61 points) and Greece (59 points), which bring up the rear.
The study’s authors note that the index is not a global comparison of all countries in the world, but rather a selection of jurisdictions offering the most developed programs for obtaining residency or citizenship through investment or merit.
The ranking is based on six equally weighted criteria: potential income, career growth opportunities, access to jobs at leading companies, quality of education, economic mobility, and overall quality of life. The calculations use data from national statistical agencies as well as international organizations, including the IMF, OECD, and ILO, and global labor market rankings.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has published a ranking of the best physical culture and sports facilities in Ukraine based on the results of 2025.
“The assessment was based on the results of athletes’ participation in official international and all-Ukrainian sports competitions in 2025. The ranking includes 111 specialized Olympic reserve youth sports schools, 112 youth sports schools (among the five best in each region and the city of Kyiv), 33 schools of higher sportsmanship, 17 specialized sports education institutions, and 15 Olympic training centers,” the ministry said in a statement.
In particular, among the best specialized children’s and youth sports schools of the Olympic reserve are: Deryugin Children’s and Youth Sports School (Kyiv City Council), Sumy Regional Children’s and Youth Sports School “Dynamo” (Sumy Regional Council), and Vinnytsia Regional Children’s and Youth Sports School for Field Hockey “Olimpiya” (Vinnytsia Regional Council).
The best children’s and youth sports schools: Aqualider Children’s and Youth Sports School (Kyiv City State Administration), Brovary Children’s and Youth Sports School for Wushu and Martial Arts (Brovary City Council, Kyiv Region), and Karlivka Children’s and Youth Sports School (Poltava Region).
Best schools of higher sportsmanship: Kyiv School of Higher Sportsmanlike Conduct, Lviv Regional Council School of Higher Sportsmanlike Conduct, and Kyiv City School of Higher Sportsmanlike Conduct.
Best sports colleges: Lviv Sports College (Lviv Regional Council), Ivan Piddubny Olympic College (National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine), and Kharkiv Sports College (Kharkiv Regional Council).
The best sports lyceums: Kyiv Regional Lyceum of Physical Culture and Sports (Kyiv Regional Council), Kyiv Sports Lyceum, and Ivano-Frankivsk Sports Lyceum (Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council).
The best Olympic training centers: State Center for Olympic Training in Winter Sports (Ivano-Frankivsk region), Olympic Training Center (Kyiv Regional Council), and State Center for Olympic Training in Synchronized Swimming and Diving (Kyiv).
It is noted that in the overall ranking among regions, the Department of Youth and Sports of the Kyiv City State Administration took first place, Kharkiv region took second place, and Lviv region took third place.
Detailed results of the ranking can be found at: https://mms.gov.ua/npas/pro-zatverdzhennia-reitynhu-z-olimpiiskykh-ta-neolimpiiskykh-vydiv-sportu-v-ukraini-za-2025-rik
As reported, in 2024, the ranking of the best physical education and sports institutions included: Regional Specialized Children’s and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve-2 (Kirovohrad Regional State Administration), Brovary Children’s and Youth Sports School of Wushu and Martial Arts (Brovary City Council, Kyiv Region), Kyiv School of Higher Sports Mastery, Lviv Professional College of Sports (Lviv Regional Council), Kyiv Regional Lyceum of Physical Culture and Sports (Kyiv Regional Council).
On February 10, 2026, Transparency International published the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025—an annual ranking of perceptions of corruption in the public sector. In the new release, Ukraine received 36 points out of 100 and ranked 104th out of 182 countries and territories.
Ukraine’s score increased by 1 point compared to the previous edition of the index. In CPI 2024, Ukraine had 35 points and ranked 105th (that edition assessed 180 countries and territories).
The TI report notes that Ukraine belongs to the group of countries that are gradually “moving from the bottom of the ranking toward the middle” thanks to long-term efforts to build an anti-corruption infrastructure. At the same time, the document describes 2025 as difficult for Ukraine—against the backdrop of high-profile scandals in procurement and the defense sector, but with an important emphasis: the exposure of violations and bringing cases to verdicts indicates that the new anti-corruption architecture “is delivering results.”
Overall, CPI 2025 records a further deterioration of the global picture: the world average score fell to 42 points, and more than two thirds of countries scored below 50 points. Denmark once again received the highest score (89), and at the bottom of the list are Somalia and South Sudan (9 each).
The CPI measures not “actual corruption,” but perceptions of the level of corruption in the public sector, aggregating data from expert assessments and business surveys on a 0–100 scale.
Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk tops the updated ranking of the world’s top 10 boxers published by The Ring.
It is noted that Usyk last entered the ring in July 2025, winning by knockout in the fifth round against Britain’s Daniel Dubois and becoming the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Later, in November, Usyk voluntarily vacated the WBO belt.
In the updated rankings, Usyk rose from second place to first after American Terence Crawford ended his career. In general, all boxers in the rankings moved up one position, while American Oscar Collazo, the WBA and WBO world champion in the minimumweight division, entered the top 10.
Thus, the top three boxers in the world are Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, who competes in the heavyweight division, Japanese Naoya Inoue, who competes in the featherweight division, and American Jesse Rodriguez, who competes in the lightweight division.
In June this year, Ukrainian steelmakers increased steel production to 735 thousand tons, up 68.4% year-on-year (436 thousand tons), but down 0.4% from the previous month, when they produced 738 thousand tons.
At the same time, Ukraine took 20th place in the ranking of 71 countries that are global producers of this product, compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
The top ten steel-producing countries in June are as follows: China (91.610 million tons, up 0.2% by June 2023), India (12.258 million tons, up 6%), Japan (7.022 million tons, down 4.2%), USA (6.659 million tons, minus 1.5%), Russian Federation (6.030 million tons, down 4.1%), South Korea (5.132 million tons, down 7.2%), Germany (3.187 million tons, up 8.9%), Turkey (3.071 million tons, up 4.3%), Brazil (2.874 million tons, up 11.8%) and Iran (2.612 million tons, down 8.5%).
In total, in June 2024, steel production increased by 0.5% compared to the same period in 2023 to 161.399 million tons.
In January-June 2014, the top ten steel producing countries were as follows: China (530.570 million tons, down 1.1% compared to January-June 2023), India (74.184 million tons, up 7.4%), Japan (42.696 million tons, down 2.6%), the United States (39.960 million tons, down 2.4%), and the Russian Federation (36.815 million tons, down 3%), South Korea (31.526 million tons, down 6.4%), Germany (19.360 million tons, up 4.5%), Turkey (18.615 million tons, up 16.9%), Iran (16.647 million tons, up 5.9%) and Brazil (16.433 million tons, up 2.4%).
