Despite ongoing Russian attacks affecting almost all regions of Ukraine, the majority of people in the country consider their current place of residence to be either mostly or completely safe. However, perceptions of safety differ significantly across regions.
These findings come from the 8th nationwide sociological survey on multilevel governance in Ukraine.
The survey was commissioned by the Council of Europe within the Programme “Strengthening good democratic governance and resilience in Ukraine” in cooperation with the Specialised Parliamentary Committee on Local Self-Government. It was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 9 September – 19 October 2024.
According to the survey results, 64% of respondents consider their locality to be mostly or completely safe, while 35% consider it mostly or very unsafe. The proportion of people who perceive their area as unsafe increases significantly from west to east: 16% in western regions, 32% in central regions, 51% in the south, and 61% in eastern regions.
Perceptions of safety also vary by settlement size. In rural areas, 24% of residents consider their locality unsafe. This figure rises to 44% in cities with a population of 100,000 or more.
As noted by one of the study's authors, Council of Europe consultant Anatoliy Tkachuk, the research clearly identified several macro-regions in Ukraine based on security indicators:
- temporarily occupied territories;
- frontline regions (southeastern and northern areas of Ukrainian regions located near the front line or the Ukrainian-Russian border);
- central macro-region;
- western macro-region.
“Each of these macro-regions has developed its own specific conditions for living, economic activity, and governance. These characteristics should be taken into account when designing national policies and drafting legislation related to local self-government and its recovery,” said Anatoliy Tkachuk.
The survey was commissioned by the Council of Europe within the Programme “Strengthening good democratic governance and resilience in Ukraine” in cooperation with the Specialised Parliamentary Committee on Local Self-Government. It was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 9 September – 19 October 2024.
The Programme “Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Resilience in Ukraine” was implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026.
