A large share of Ukrainian respondents describe their financial situation as difficult and unfortunate. They become more concerned about the work perspectives in their home country. People in Ukraine believe that today it’s not a good time for making purchases, Finance.ua reports.
What Do Ukrainians Buy with Spare Money?
The majority of Ukrainians believe that the economic crisis in the country is deepening. This is proven by consumer behavior research by Nielsen, a global information and measurement company with headquarters in New York, USA.
In the first quarter of 2016:
- 97% of respondents stated that their lives are more affected by the crisis (95% in the previous quarter).
- 71% of Ukrainians believe that their country will not be able to overcome the crisis in the next 12 months (same as in the previous quarter).
- One-third (32%) of people admit that they have money only for purchasing basic consumer goods (27% in the last quarter).
- Those who have some spare money buy clothes (30%), pay debts (20%), spend it on vacations (22%) or entertainment (16%), or home renovation (16%).
Currently the official minimum wage in Ukraine is only USD $50 a month.
Average salary in Ukraine country-wide is $164/month. However, only 3 million Ukrainians out of 45 million official population (42 million resident population, as many Ukrainians work abroad) pay taxes in full.
Despite these seemingly low numbers, 68% of Ukrainians stated they have spare money after paying for the essentials such as apartment maintenance fees, utility bills, and groceries. The majority of Ukrainians own their homes mortgage-free.
68% of the total population in Ukraine have spare money after paying for essentials.
In total Ukrainians are mostly concerned about the following problems:
- General situation with economics
- Rising utility bills
- Rising food prices
European respondents are more worried about terrorism (22%).
Ukraine is the second worst by consumer confidence dynamics from 63 countries, after South Korea. (Click to enlarge. Source: Nielsen.com)
Recession sentiment: Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan are in top 10 by the level of unhappiness about economics. (Source: Nielsen.com)
Read also:
- Ukrainians Spend 42% of Income on Food
- White Wages vs. Black Wages: Only 3 Million Ukrainians Pay Taxes in Full
- Ukraine: How Much Money Is Rich?
- Working Abroad: Where Ukrainians Go and How Much They Earn
As I can see around my friends, Ukrainians spend more and more money for traveling and vacation. Maybe 10-15 years ago they spent a lot of money for clothes. I am not sure that it is the same situation now.
However, if your spare income is not so big, you cannot buy a tour abroad. Then you go to the shop for new clothes 😉
I’m Ukrainian and I can say, that economic crisis is not a really big problem for us! My friends always can spend a lot of money for clothes, travelling and entertainments. I also think, that economic crisis in Ukraine is
artificial phenomenon, done by the government.