The Economist Intelligence Unit, the analytical division of The Economist Group, has published the Global Liveability Index 2026—a ranking of living conditions in 173 cities around the world. The index evaluates cities across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
For the second year in a row, Copenhagen was named the world’s most livable city. The top ten included: Copenhagen (Denmark), Vienna (Austria), Melbourne (Australia), Sydney (Australia), Zurich (Switzerland), Geneva (Switzerland), Osaka (Japan), Adelaide (Australia), Vancouver (Canada), and Tokyo (Japan).
Kyiv found itself at the bottom of the ranking: the Ukrainian capital dropped from 165th to 166th place and once again made the list of the world’s ten least livable cities. The main reason is the consequences and risks of a full-scale war, which directly affect stability, infrastructure, and the quality of the urban environment.
Damascus, Syria, remains in last place in the ranking, a position it has held since 2013. Other cities at the bottom of the list include Tripoli, Libya; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Tehran, Iran; Lagos, Nigeria; and Kyiv. The EIU notes that nearly all cities at the bottom of the ranking have been affected by war, political instability, poverty, or a combination of these factors.
For Ukraine, the result is painful but expected. Before the war, Kyiv ranked significantly higher: in 2021, it was in 117th place; in 2022, it was excluded from the ranking due to the war; and from 2023 to 2025, it held the 165th position. In 2026, the capital dropped another spot.
The ranking also reflects a general global trend: cities with high stability, advanced healthcare, quality education, and well-developed infrastructure remain at the top, while wars and crises quickly push cities down the list even when they possess strong human and economic potential.
For Kyiv, this index is not so much an assessment of the city’s quality as such, but rather an indicator of the cost of war. Provided that security normalizes, infrastructure is restored, and military risks are reduced, the Ukrainian capital has the potential to return to the middle of the ranking, where it stood until 2022.
OTP Group has reached an important milestone: after four consecutive years of growth, it has made it into the top 400 companies in the world in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking for the first time.
The Forbes Global 2000 ranking identifies the world’s largest publicly traded companies each year. The list is compiled based on four key financial metrics—revenue, profit, assets, and market capitalization—each of which is weighted equally. According to the methodology, separate rankings of the top 2,000 companies are compiled for each metric, and the final ranking is determined by their combined results.
“OTP Group has been ranked among the world’s 400 strongest companies in the Forbes Global 2000—an achievement we have attained together with our colleagues, clients, and partners as a regional banking group from Hungary. OTP Group’s continuous growth confirms the strength of our stable strategy and customer-focused approach. “I would like to thank our colleagues for their efforts, which contribute to our shared success, as well as our customers for their trust, which is the foundation of our outstanding growth,” said Péter Csányi, CEO of OTP Bank.
In 2026, OTP Group ranked among the top 1,000 companies in all categories evaluated by Forbes: 360th in revenue, 313th in assets, 993rd in revenue, and 658th in market capitalization, securing an overall 398th place. This achievement is particularly significant given that four years ago the company was not yet among the top 1,000; since then, its ranking has improved significantly every year.
About OTP Group
OTP Group is one of the most dynamic and leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe, with high profitability and a stable position in terms of capital and liquidity. Today, with nearly 40,000 employees across 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Group provides comprehensive financial services to nearly 17.5 million customers.
As the most active consolidator in the banking sector of Central and Eastern Europe, the Group has successfully acquired and integrated 25 banks since the early 2000s.
OTP Group is headquartered in Hungary and is characterized by a diversified and transparent ownership structure. The banking group has been listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange since 1995.
According to Experts.news, Malta took first place in the ranking of the world’s most valuable passports according to the Nomad Passport Index 2026, compiled by Nomad Capitalist. The country scored 109 points, ahead of Ireland, Greece, and Romania, which tied for second place with 108 points.
Unlike traditional passport rankings, which primarily consider the number of visa-free destinations, the Nomad Passport Index evaluates citizenship more broadly—as a tool for global mobility, tax planning, personal freedom, and international reputation. The methodology uses five criteria: visa-free access, taxation of citizens, the country’s global reputation, the possibility of holding dual citizenship, and the level of personal freedoms.
The top ten of the ranking looks like this: Malta—1st place, Ireland, Greece, and Romania—2nd place, Cyprus—5th place, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Italy, and Bulgaria—6th place, Hungary and the UAE—10th place. Thus, the top of the ranking is dominated by European countries, particularly EU member states, which combine a high level of mobility, the ability to live and work within the single European area, and a relatively strong international reputation.
Malta scored 172 points for travel, 40 points for taxation, and the maximum 50 points for international perception, dual citizenship, and personal freedoms. This balance allowed it to take first place, despite the fact that it lags behind a number of other passports in terms of the number of visa-free destinations.
An interesting feature of the ranking was Romania’s high placement, which tied for second place with Ireland and Greece. Romanian citizenship received 108 points, including 172 points for travel, 40 points for taxation, 40 points for country perception, and top marks for dual citizenship and freedoms.
Singapore, which often ranks first in passport rankings for visa-free access, came in only 20th in the Nomad Passport Index. Its passport has a high travel score of 175, but a low score for dual citizenship limits the overall result. This highlights a key difference in the Nomad Capitalist ranking: it evaluates not only travel freedom but also the practical flexibility of citizenship for globally mobile people.
The U.S. ranked 43rd with 100 points. Despite strong international perception and a high level of mobility, U.S. citizenship receives a low score on the tax criterion, as the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that taxes its citizens based on citizenship rather than residency alone.
Global steel production in April 2026 fell by 1.9% compared to the same period in 2025, to 153.449 million tons, according to data from the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
China remains the leader in global steel production, having reduced output in April by 2.8% compared to April of last year—to 83.630 million tons. India took second place with a 3.9% increase in production to 13.829 million tons. The U.S. increased production by 9.4% to 7.160 million tons and ranked third.
The top ten steel producers in April also included Japan—6.620 million tons (+0.3%), South Korea—5.245 million tons (+4.8%), Russia—5.020 million tons (-12.4%), Turkey—3.291 million tons (+9.4%), Germany—3.233 million tons (+9.5%), Brazil – 2.720 million tons (+2.8%), and Vietnam – 2.130 million tons (+4%).
Iran recorded the largest percentage decline among the countries included in Worldsteel’s statistics in April, with steel production falling by 45.7% to 1.8 million tons.
In April 2026, Ukraine ranked 25th among 69 countries in the Worldsteel ranking. Ukrainian steel mills produced 517,000 tons of steel during the month, which is 25.3% less than in April 2025, when the figure stood at 692,000 tons. Compared to March 2026, when 702,000 tons were produced, the decline amounted to 26.3%.
In the January–April 2026 period, global steel production decreased by 2% compared to the same period last year, to 613.323 million tons.
The top ten steel-producing countries for the four-month period are as follows: China – 331.120 million tons (-4.1%), India – 58.681 million tons (+9.4%), the U.S. – 28.140 million tons (+6.6%), Japan – 26.670 million tons (-1.2%), South Korea – 21.041 million tons (+2.5%), Russia – 20.570 million tons (-12%), Turkey – 13.037 million tons (+6.3%), Germany – 12.493 million tons (+9.1%), Brazil – 10.793 million tons (-1.6%), and Vietnam – 8.520 million tons (+8.4%).
In January–April 2026, Ukraine reduced its steel output by 7.4% compared to the same period in 2025—from 2.425 million tons to 2.246 million tons. At the end of the four-month period, the country ranked 24th in the global ranking.
As reported, at the end of 2025, the world’s largest steel producers were China—960.810 million tons (-4.4%), India—164.887 million tons (+10.4%), the United States—81.951 million tons (+3.1%), Japan—80.679 million tons (-4%), Russia—67.820 million tons (-4.5%), South Korea—61.882 million tons (-2.8%), Turkey—38.118 million tons (+3.3%), Germany – 34.090 million tons (-8.6%), Brazil – 33.347 million tons (-1.6%), and Iran – 31.8 million tons (+1.4%).
In total, 70 countries produced 1,803.774 million tons of steel in 2025, which is 2% less than in 2024.
In 2025, Ukraine produced 7.409 million tons of steel, which is 2.2% less than in 2024. At the end of last year, the country ranked 21st in the global ranking of steel producers.
The leader has changed in 6 regions
OpenDataBot has updated its annual ranking of Ukraine’s largest employers in each region, based on an analysis of financial reporting data from Ukrainian companies. The leader has changed in 6 regions, and 8 companies from the ranking have been included in the OpenDataBot Index 2026.
The largest employer in the capital and in Ukraine as a whole remains, as usual, Ukrzaliznytsia — 169,952 employees. Over the year, the number of employees there decreased by 4.9%. Ukrzaliznytsia is also among the top ten companies in the OpenDataBot Index in the transport and logistics sector.
The leader in the Dnipropetrovsk region remains ATB-Market—46,649 employees. Over the past year, the company’s workforce increased by 1.2%. The company belongs to the ATB Group and is also included in the list of businesses featured in the OpenDataBot Index in the retail sector. It is worth noting that ATB is one of the country’s largest employers overall.
In Poltava Oblast, Aurora (Vygidna Pokupka LLC) leads the way with 14,590 employees. Over the past year, the company managed to increase its workforce by 16%. In addition, Aurora is among the top ten businesses in the OpenDataBot Index for the retail sector.
Zaporizhstal, which is also part of the OpenDataBot Index, became the leader in the Zaporizhzhia region. The company employs 8,039 people. Compared to 2024, the workforce decreased by 6.3%. The company is also part of Rinat Akhmetov’s financial and industrial SCM Group.
Volyn is in the spotlight this year—WOG (Petrol Contract LLC), part of the Continium Group, has 5,490 employees and showed record workforce growth of nearly 1.7 times. In response to a request from OpenDataBot, WOG explained that the company underwent a consolidation of legal entities last year. Therefore, the increase in headcount is related more to organizational changes than to a real increase in the number of jobs. This allowed the company to become the new regional leader, displacing Kromberg & Schubert Ukraine Ltd. WOG also made it into this year’s OpenDataBot Index in the retail sector.
In the Kyiv region, the largest employer is the Fora chain of stores, part of the Fozzy Group, with 9,462 employees. Over the year, the workforce grew by 3%. The company also made it onto this year’s OpenDataBot Index in the retail sector.
Vinnytsia Poultry Farm leads in Vinnytsia Oblast and employs 6,636 people: +11.3% over the year. The company is part of the MHP Group and also took first place in the agriculture sector in this year’s OpenDataBot Index.
In Lviv Oblast, the largest employer is OKKO-Drive with 6,579 employees. The number of employees decreased by 2% over the year. The company is part of the OKKO Group.
In Zhytomyr Oblast, another participant in the OpenDataBot Index leads the way—the UPG gas station chain (Ukrpaletsystem LLC)—with 4,154 employees. Over the year, the company increased its workforce by 8%. The company is part of the UPG Group.
In the Kirovohrad region, the largest employer this year is the Faino Market chain (Veresen Plus LLC), which has 3,569 employees. Over the year, the number of employees increased by 7%.
The Ternopil region is represented by the cable network factory Se Bordnetz-Ukraine with 3,215 employees: -9% over the year.
Flextronics TZOV is the largest employer in Zakarpattia. The company’s workforce decreased by 6% over the year to 2,408 employees.
In the Chernivtsi region, the Taystra Group retail chain has been the leader for the second year in a row, with 1,163 employees. At the same time, the number of employees decreased by 6% over the year.
In the Kherson region, Taurt Medical (Medicgroup LLC) is the leader this year. The company employs 426 people: a 6% decrease over the year.
In 10 regions of Ukraine, the largest employers are companies that supply the country with electricity:
One in five business leaders in Ukraine earns over 10 million UAH
There are currently 74,000 business leaders in Ukraine who earn over 10 million UAH annually and file their financial reports on time. The vast majority of them—72%—are men. Rinat Akhmetov, Vitaliy Antonov, and Andriy Verevskyi made it into the top three richest businessmen in Ukraine. Nearly a quarter of the businessmen are registered in Kyiv.
There are currently 74,000 businesspeople in Ukraine whose companies generate between 10 million UAH and 100 million UAH in revenue. This represents one-fifth of all company owners who submitted annual reports—360,000 businesspeople. Only 28% of the businesspeople on the list are women.
Follow the leaders on the Ukrainian Businessmen Ranking page. If you are a company owner and your business submits financial reports on time and regularly—look for yourself on the list.
Over the year, the ranking grew: 9,122 participants dropped out, while 15,450 were added. The net increase in the ranking was 6,328 businesspeople. Positions have also changed; only 21 participants retained their spots. Meanwhile, 37% of businesspeople rose in the ranking, while 42% lost ground.
Nearly a quarter of all businesspeople are registered in Kyiv—16,230. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast follows (7,204 businesspeople) and Lviv Oblast (5,878). Together, these three regions account for about 40% of the top tier.
Most operate in the “mid-tier” segment of big business: 79% have revenues ranging from 10 to 100 million UAH. Another 19% generate between 100 million and 1 billion UAH, and only 2% are true giants with a turnover exceeding 1 billion UAH.
The “entry threshold” for the country’s 100 richest businesspeople rose to 9.96 billion UAH in 2025. This is 11% higher than in 2024. To make it into the top 1,000, a company must have at least 1.5 billion UAH in revenue.
Since the publication of the 2025 Businessmen Ranking, changes have occurred in the list—in particular, due to updated financial statements. Consequently, the top ten has been updated.
As of now, taking into account the updated financial statements, the top 10 businessmen of 2026 look like this:
Rinat Akhmetov remains the undisputed leader with corporate revenue exceeding 843 billion UAH. Second and third places are held by Vitaliy Antonov (164 billion UAH) and Andriy Verevskyi (149.7 billion UAH). The top ten also includes Yuriy Kosyuk, Volodymyr Kostelman, Oleksiy Poroshenko, and Dmytro Firtash. The only woman in the top 10 is Svitlana Ivakhiv, who rounds out the top 10 with revenue of approximately 46.9 billion UAH.
69 of the top 100 business owners are registered in Ukraine. The list also includes representatives from Cyprus (7%), the U.S. and the U.K. (5% each), Switzerland (4%), and other countries, including the UAE, Germany, and Monaco.
An income of 10+ million UAH was chosen as the threshold for the ranking. This is precisely the threshold above which the single tax no longer applies and the line beyond which a venture begins to qualify as a business—with corporate structuring, reporting, and all applicable taxes. The list may change as financial reports are updated.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/businessmen-2026
