The press release was prepared by Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS

From November 29 to December 9, 2023, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus". Bythemethodofcomputer-assistedtelephoneinterviews(CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting), 1,031 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except AR of Crimea) were interviewed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived on the territory of Ukraine (within the boundaries controlled by the Ukrainian authorities until February 24, 2022). The sample did not include residents of territories that were not temporarily controlled by the authorities of Ukraine until February 24, 2022 (AR of Crimea, Sevastopol, certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts), and the survey was not conducted with citizens abroad.

Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) did not exceed 3.4% for indicators close to 50%, 3.0% for indicators close to 25%, 2.1% - for indicators close to 10%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 5%.

Under conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. KIIS previously cited factors that can affect the quality of results in "wartime" conditions.

In general, we believe that the obtained results are still highly representative for the population of Ukraine living in the territory under the control of the Government, and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public moods of the population.

Since the declaration of independence, Ukrainian society has been in the process of transformation, particularly in terms of values. One of the important dimensions that characterizes the development of legitimate power hierarchies and power relations in society is how the population sees their own Government. Not in terms of trust or distrust of a particular Government, but in general its role in the life of society. The population can see in the Government an attentive father who should take care of people as if they were children. Or the population may perceive the Government as a worker, and themselves as managers who must control the Government.

As can be seen in graph 1, currently 66% of Ukrainians believe that the Government is a worker, and people should be managers who exercise control over its actions. At the same time, over the past three years, the share of people who share this view has increased from 55% to 66%. On the other hand, from 36% to 30%, those who believe that the Government is like a father who should take care of people like children have decreased.

Graph1. How Ukrainians perceive the Government

In all regions, the majority of the population tends to view the Government as a worker. Only the East stands out somewhat, where there are slightly more people who perceive the Government as a father (38% versus 28-30% in other regions).

Graph2. How Ukrainians perceive the Government in the regional dimension

Among younger respondents, the view of the Government as a worker is more pronounced – 80% among people under the age of 30, 66-70% among people aged 30-59 and "only" 55% among people aged 60 and older. Along with this, the share of those who see father in the Government increases with age - from 20% among people under the age of 30 to 39% among people aged 60 and older.

Graph3. How Ukrainians perceive the Government in the age dimension

Significant dependence can be traced with the education of the respondents. If among persons with higher education, 74% see the Government as a worker, then among persons with vocational or technical secondary education – 65%, and among persons with complete secondary education or below – 42%. Along with this, the share of those who see the Government as a father increases from 22% among persons with a higher education to 52% among persons with a complete secondary education or less.

Graph4. How Ukrainians perceive the Government in the educational dimension

The issue of relations between the public and the Government / state can be looked at from the point of view of the economic sphere. Does the latter need deregulation and greater freedom of action, or, on the contrary, should the Government / state be a powerful player that actively regulates and controls economic activity in the country.

A little more than half of Ukrainians - 54% - believe that the more actively the state regulates and controls economic activity, the better it affects the country's economy (three years ago there were 56 %). The share of those who want less regulation and control is 36% (an increase from 24% in 2020).   

Graph5. How will it be better for the economy

Respondents who primarily see the Government as a father are more likely to insist on its active participation and control of the economy – 64% against 28% who believe that the Government should intervene less in the economy. Along with this, and among those who see the Government as a worker, half (49%) believe that the economy would be better off if the state intervened more actively and controlled (support more freedom of action and less control - 41%).

Graph6. How will it be better for the economy in terms of the Government's view

In all regions, the prevailing opinion is that the state should more actively regulate and control economic activity. This opinion is somewhat more pronounced in the South and East.

Graph7. How will it be better for the economy in the regional dimension

Graph8. How it will be better for the economy in the age dimension

In terms of education, people with higher education stand out, among whom 45% believe that the state should regulate economic activity less. However, even among them, 46% speak about the expediency of more active participation of the state.

Graph9. How it will be better for the economy in the educational dimension

A. Hrushetskyi, comments on the survey results:

Over the last period, we can see (another) intensification of public discussions regarding the role of the state in the economy and the optimal economic policy for Ukraine. Some experts and public leaders from various fields talk about the importance of deregulation, optimizing the tax burden, creating favorable conditions for investment and stimulating business activity. Others want to see the state as a strong player, in particular, which directs economic activity in conditions of full-scale war.

The data presented in the press release show that views on the state and its role in the economy remain rather ambivalent among the country's population. If to put them together, according to Ukrainians, the Government should have enough powers and resources to intervene and direct economic activity, but at the same time remain an employee under the leadership of citizens. The ambivalence of views is strengthened by the fact that in another survey, among the seven criteria of democracy, only 13% (sixth place out of seven!) listed the Government's accountability to citizens as the most important characteristics[1].

It is safe to say that supporters of various models of economic policy and the role of the state can find out in citizen surveys what will correspond to their views. If you are a fighter against paternalism and a supporter of the private sector, then the first part of the press release that the majority sees the Government as an employee will support your position. If you are a supporter of a "strong hand" in the economy, then you will find the data in the second part of the press release useful, where more than half of citizens want more regulation.

Issues of economic policy are definitely expert and exist in conditions of lack of consensus (not only in Ukraine, but also in the world in general) regarding the "gold standard", how the ideal economic policy should be conducted. Therefore, it is natural that the average Ukrainian citizen does not possess a sufficient amount of expert knowledge. However, it is wrong to dismiss public opinion on the basis of this. Ukraine is imperfect, but democracy, and the voice of citizens must be taken into account. Public support is important for the successful implementation of reforms. If the public may have wrong views, this should be taken into account in communication and efforts should be made for a constructive and sincere dialogue with citizens.

Finally, it is important to pay attention to another important trend. The fact that more and more citizens see the Government as an employee is one of the evidences of the subjectivization of Ukrainians who seek a greater role and influence in their society. Related to this, the data of another survey, where 60% of Ukrainians believe that Ukrainians should defend their own interests in the negotiations for joining the EU, also testify to subjectivization in the international arena[2]. The subjectivization of Ukrainians in various areas is an important component of building a modern, developed, self-confident society. However, it also contains risks from the side of populists and other supporters of "simple solutions", who will certainly try to take advantage of the desire of Ukrainians to "raise their heads" in their country and in relations with neighboring partners. The further development of Ukrainian society will not be easy, but Ukraine is moving in the right direction.

Annex 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire

We would also like to hear your thoughts on certain desirable aspects of Ukrainian society. Now I will read out pairs of statements, and you tell me which of the statements you agree with to a greater extent. RANDOMIZATION OF THE ORDER OF STATEMENT PAIRS AND STATEMENTS WITHIN PAIRS