SWOT-analysis of the Ukrainian economy by Vasyl Khmelnytsky and Anatolii Amelin

20 May, 2020 KYIV INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM (KIEF)

The exit of the Ukrainian economy from the crisis is possible only with a comprehensive analysis of this situation and potential risks and prospects. As part of a special project of the Kyiv International Economic Forum #insightsKIEF, the founder of the holding company UFuture Vasyl Khmelnytsky and co-founder of the analytical centre “Ukrainian Institute for the Future” Anatolii Amelin conducted a SWOT-analysis of the Ukrainian economy for 2020.

Strengths

human capital;
favourable geographical location and logistics opportunities;
natural resource reserves worth more than $1 trillion;
developed IT industry;
black soil and the agricultural sector, which can increase the production of finished products;
powerful energy and military-industrial complexes.

Weaknesses

political instability;
lack of economic development strategy, support for entrepreneurs, transparent rules and healthy law enforcement and judicial system;
expensive loans and dependence on imports;
the high administrative burden on business;
the low purchasing power of the population.

Opportunities

conditions for conducting a pragmatic comprehensive economic national policy for the development of innovative industries;
the potential to become one of the global guarantors of food security;
significant volumes for hydrocarbon storage and developed infrastructure for electricity transit;
opportunities for growth of domestic tourism — every year Ukrainians spend about $ 8 billion abroad, and local players can master part of these resources;
actively developing pharmaceuticals;
medical tourism — in the global market, health care services in Ukraine in some niches are relatively cheap and high quality.

Threats

climate change — in particular, the southern regions of Ukraine already need land reclamation;
the global transition from globalism to national protectionism;
new military conflicts;
labour migration, which washes out highly qualified personnel and labour from the country;
reduction of global demand for biofuels, which may lead to a decline in exports of certain agricultural crops from Ukraine.

Read more information on what Vasyl Khmelnytsky and Anatolii Amelin are advised to pay attention to when creating Ukraine’s economic strategy for the coming years, in the article “Ukrainian economy-2020: from threats to opportunities” by delo.ua.