Page 13 - UKRRptDec21

Ukraine has high mortality rates – about one-third of Ukrainians die before the age of 65 due to poor quality of life, low living standards, and non-infectious diseases.
Ukraine has low fertility rates – it is one of the most rapidly aging nations in Europe. Many Ukrainians cannot have the desired number of children because the country lacks opportunities for women to combine careers and childcare.
Migration – An estimated 3 million Ukrainians are now working abroad, almost half of them are employed in low-skilled jobs for which they are overqualified. Ukrainians move to other countries hoping to find a better life and a job with decent pay, the UN said.
Brain drain is also a big issue in Ukraine. A third of the recent growth in migration is represented by Ukrainians under 35, who usually move abroad to study and are unlikely to return. It causes labor shortages in Ukraine.
Although Ukraine’s government cannot change the country’s fertility or mortality rates, it can invest in people, their security, and financial stability, the UN said.
Some 25% of Ukrainians among those who have made their choice and will go to the polls if such elections were held next Sunday are ready to vote for incumbent President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the data of a sociological study conducted by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future (UIF) with the assistance of New Image Marketing Group from October 23 to November 2.
According to the results of the study, which were made public in the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday, the second place in the rating is occupied by chairman of the European Solidarity political party Petro Poroshenko with 13%, the third is occupied by head of the political force Opposition Bloc Yuriy Boiko with 12%, the fourth by head of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko with 11%, the fifth by leader of the Strength and Honor party Ihor Smeshko with 8%, former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and leader of the Nashi party Evhen Murayev are in the sixth place with 7%, and the seventh position is taken by former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov with 6%. The rest of the candidates did not pass the 5% threshold.
If elections to the Verkhovna Rada were held next Sunday, six parties would enter parliament. In particular, 18% of the respondents among those who made their choice and decided to go to polling stations would vote for the Servant of the People party, 16% for Batkivschyna, the same amount would vote for the Opposition Platform - For Life, 15% for European Solidarity, 7% for the Strength and Honor party, and 6% for the Nashi party. The rest of the parties did not pass the 5% threshold.
Poll results published by the Rating sociological group on Nov. 11 show support for President Volodymyr Zelensky continuing to drop. The polls conducted over Nov. 4-6, show that 21.8% of decided voters would vote for him, compared to over 30% at the beginning of September. While Zelensky’s numbers are dropping, no dominant opponent has emerged. Former president Petro Poroshenko leads the pack with 14.5% of decided voters supporting him, followed by pro-Russian politician Yuriy Boyko with 11.0% and former PM Yulia Tymoshenko at 10.8%. The poll also shows that support for Zelensky is still higher than that of the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the
13 UKRAINE Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com