What Ukrainians think about quality of life in 2025: Insights from business and the broad audience — findings from EBA and Gradus Research

Despite the ongoing war, economic uncertainty, and high levels of anxiety, Ukrainians continue to show moderate resilience in their perception of life in the country. For the third year in a row, job satisfaction ranks highest among all aspects of life — both for the business community and the general population.

These are the findings of the latest wave of the “Quality of Life Barometer” for 2025, conducted by the European Business Association in collaboration with the research agency Gradus Research. The study covers two target groups: the broad audience across the country and the business audience, represented by employees of EBA member companies.

Job: A Stable Anchor Amid Turbulence

In 2025, 65% of business respondents are satisfied with their current workplace, level of self-fulfilment, and respect for employee rights — a result consistent with 2024. The share of dissatisfied respondents remains steady at 10%.

Among the broad audience, satisfaction with work is significantly lower: only 31% positively rate their job, while roughly a third express dissatisfaction.

Income: Rising Expectations

Financial satisfaction shows a mixed trend. Among the business audience: 42% consider their income sufficient for a decent life, 9% believe it is more than sufficient — both indicators are unchanged from the previous year.

Key reasons employees from EBA member companies choose to stay at their current jobs include: the opportunity to work remotely (59%), a friendly team atmosphere (40%), comfortable and safe working conditions (36%), and a positive relationship with their manager (34%).

In contrast, among the broad audience, only 15% say their income is sufficient for a decent life, while 85% find it insufficient. A third consider their income critically insufficient. It’s also worth noting that 68% of broad respondents earn less than UAH 20,000 per month.

Social Life: Modest but Positive Dynamics

Social life is one of the few areas where both groups report an increase in satisfaction. Among the business audience, 54% are satisfied (up from 48% in 2024), while 24% are dissatisfied. Within the broad audience, 33% express satisfaction, and 42% dissatisfaction.

This may indicate a certain level of adaptation to wartime conditions and the strengthening of horizontal social ties.

Security – the Key Barrier to Improving Overall Quality of Life

Security remains the most critical area: only 5% of the business audience report feeling satisfied, while 82% are dissatisfied. Among the general public, 10% are satisfied and 68% dissatisfied.

The lowest ratings come from the southern and eastern regions, while the highest are observed in Kyiv, western Ukraine, and among younger respondents. The lack of positive progress in this area highlights that the security factor is the main obstacle to improving overall quality of life.

Education and Healthcare: Gradual Restoration of Trust

The healthcare system is the only area where a notable improvement in perception has been recorded, particularly among the business audience. In 2025, 50% of respondents from EBA member companies expressed satisfaction with the healthcare system (compared to 40% in 2024), while 21% were dissatisfied (down from 27%). Among the broad audience, 26% reported satisfaction and 38% dissatisfaction.

Perceptions of the education system – particularly regarding accessibility and quality of services – remained largely unchanged among the business audience, with 34% satisfied and 31% dissatisfied, indicating a slight positive trend compared to 2024. Among the broad audience, however, satisfaction increased from 20% in 2024 to 31%, while dissatisfaction dropped from 44% to 36%.

Legal Framework and Environment: Signs of Progress, But Systemic Challenges Remain

The legal system has shown more visible progress. Among the business audience, dissatisfaction decreased from 61% to 48%, while satisfaction rose from 15% to 22%. Among the broad audience, satisfaction increased from 12% to 19%, and dissatisfaction fell from 59% to 48%.

Meanwhile, assessments of the environmental situation remain consistently low. Only 9% of the business audience gave positive ratings to environmental conditions, while 67% were dissatisfied. Among the broad audience, the numbers were similar: 10% satisfied and 63% dissatisfied.

Overall Quality of Life: Young People and Western Regions Driving Positive Sentiment

A quarter of the business audience (25%) reported being mostly or completely satisfied with life in Ukraine, 38% rated their experience as neutral, and 37% were mostly or completely dissatisfied. In 2024, 27% were satisfied and 37% dissatisfied. In contrast, 2023 saw more positive sentiment, with 44% satisfied and only 21% dissatisfied.

Among the broad audience, satisfaction levels remain lower than those of the business audience. Only 17% of respondents reported being satisfied with their overall experience of life in Ukraine, 35% were neutral, and 48% dissatisfied. The most positive assessments came from younger respondents (aged 16–25), with 29% satisfied and 36% dissatisfied, as well as from residents of western Ukraine, with 23% satisfied and 43% dissatisfied.

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For reference:

The Quality of Life Barometer (known as the Barometer of Happiness in Ukraine until 2022) is an annual survey conducted by the European Business Association since 2018. Gradus Research is a research partner of the survey in 2025.

The target audience of the study: General population – men and women aged 16 and over, residing in Ukrainian cities with populations of 50,000 or more (excluding temporarily occupied territories and areas of active hostilities). Sample size: 1,000 respondents. Business audience -employees of EBA member companies, regardless of their current location. Sample size: 523 respondents. Fieldwork period: May 2025.