The budget for science and research in Ukraine in 2019


February 28, 2019

Usually, expenditures (expenses) for a particular field in the country's budget are counted as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But the budget expenditures, which are annually adopted by the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) (https://zakon. rada. gov. ua/laws/show/2629-19), make up only a certain percentage of GDP. That is, the country's budget and GDP are different things. According to unverified data total budget expenditures make up about 28% of GDP in Ukraine. The distribution of expenditures of the budget of Ukraine for 2019 can be found in Appendix No. 3 to the state budget of Ukraine (XLS file: https://zakon. rada. gov. ua/laws/file/text/68/f479611n176. xls ).


As for expenditures on science, they are rather spread and sometimes most probably declarative. For example, judging from the articles of financing in the budget, the State Department of Affairs, the State Service for Emergency Situations, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, and almost all ministries, including, of course, the Ministry of Education and Science (see table below), deal with science.


We can only guess what is a quality of research conducted, if conducted at all, in non-research, by their nature, state establishments when a quality of research even in academies and universities is mostly poor. Of course, state industry research is needed, but the funds for the research would be more appropriate to distribute on a competitive basis through the National Research Fund (NRF), rather than through separate articles in the budget, since the method of articles in the budget has many opportunities for corruption, most of which are likely to be absent in the case of the funds distribution through the NRF, taking into account the mechanisms for controlling the NRF activities present in the Law on Scientific and Scientific-Technological Activities.

There are also some obscure moments. Why, for example, there is a separate funding for research at the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University and the National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute named after Igor Sikorsky"? There are more higher educational institutions in Ukraine than the mentioned two.


So, the numbers:


Total expenditures of the state budget for 2019 amounted to about 1 112 billion UAH (41 billion USD; 36 billion EUR).


The projected GDP for 2019 (unverified data) is about 3 940 billion UAH (USD 146 billion, EUR 127 billion).


Expenditures related to science contained in all articles of the budget expenditures table where science or research is mentioned are about 14 billion UAH (519 million USD; 452 million EUR).


That is, budget expenditures on science and research in Ukraine make up 1.26% of all budget expenditures or 0.36% of GDP, although some of them are most probably only nominal, that is, they do not go to scientific/research activity.

A consolidated table of expenditures for science and research in Ukraine in 2019 (data is taken from the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine https://zakon. rada. gov. ua/laws/file/text/68/f479611n176. xls )

Expenditure name

according to the branch and programm classification

of expenditures and loans of the state budget

Thousands UAH (for USD divide by 26.96, for EUR divide

by 30.65; the rates are for 27.02.2019)



State administration of affairs

Fundamental and applied research in the field of public

administration, strategic issues of domestic and foreign policy,

and mediation and reconciliation in the resolution of collective

labor disputes (conflicts) 105,383.4


Economic and Financial Department of the Secretariat of

the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Secretariat of the Cabinet

of Ministers of Ukraine

Organizational, material, technical, informational and other

support of the activities of the National Rada of Ukraine

on the development of science and technology 509.3


Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

Scientific and informational and analytical support for

measures to combat organized crime and corruption 5,289.6


State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations

Applied scientific and scientific-technical development, execution

of works for government targeted programs and government

orders in the field hydrometeorology, preparation of scientific

personel 27,989.2


Applied scientific and scientific-technical development,

execution of works for government targeted programs and

government orders in the field civil protection and fire

safety, training of scientific personnel 48,093.3


Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine

Applied scientific and scientific-technical development, execution

of works for government targeted programs and state orders,

training of scientific staff and financial support of development of

scientific infrastructure in sphere of fuel and energy complex

and coal industry 8,396.1


Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine

Research, Applied Science and scientific and technical development,

execution works for state targeted programs and government orders

training of scientific staff and financial support for development of scientific

infrastructure in the field of economic development 20,000.0


Support and functioning of national reference base, ensuring the functioning

of services, applied scientific and scientific-technical developments, execution

of works for government targeted programs and government orders in the field of

standardization, metrology and reference bases, harmonization of national

standarts with international and European, preparation of scientific

staff in the field of economic development 38,121.6



Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine,

State Statistics Service of Ukraine

Applied scientific research in the field of state statistics 814.1


Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

Research, scientific and scientific and technical developments,

execution of projects for state target programs and government

orders, training of scientific personnel, financial support for

the development of scientific infrastructure, scientific objects

that constitute the national heritage 968,380.6


Fund of the President of Ukraine for the support of educational

and scientific programs for youth 1,000,000.0


State awards, scholarships and grants in the field of education

, science and technology, scholarships for winners of international

competitions 44. 969.7


Ensuring the activities of the National Center

"Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine", providing extracurricular

education by state out-of-school educational institutions,

measures for extracurricular activities 202,368.5


Research, scientific and scientific and technical developments,

carrying out scientific events by the Taras Shevchenko

Kyiv National University, financial support of scientific

objects that make up the national heritage 125,378.0


Ensuring the activities of the National Research Fund

and the State Fund for Fundamental Research, grant support for

scientific research and scientific and technical (experimental)

developments. 262,448.0


Research, scientific and scientific and technical developments,

conducting scientific events by the National Technical University

of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute named after Igor Sikorsky",

financial support of scientific objects that make up the national heritage 70,500.4


Support for the priority areas of scientific research and scientific

and technical (experimental) development in higher education institutions 100,000.0


Meeting Ukraine's commitments in the European Union's Framework Program

for Research and Innovation "Horizon 2020" 381,117.5


Research at the Antarctic station "Academician Vernadsky" 60,279.2


Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine

Research, scientific and scientific and technical developments,

execution of projects on state target programs and government

orders, training and professional development of scientific

personnel in the field of health care, financial support for

the development of scientific infrastructure and objects constituting

a national heritage 157,798.8


Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine

Applied scientific, scientific and technical developments, execution

of projects on state target programs and government orders in

the field of nature protection activities, financial support for the

training of scientific personnel 34,500.3


State Agency for Water Resources of Ukraine

Applied scientific, scientific and technical developments, execution

of works under the state orders in the field of water sector development 196.1


Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine

Applied scientific, scientific and technical developments, preparation

of scientific personnel in the field of social policy 19,365.9


State Labor Service

Applied research and development, training of scientific personnel in the

field of industrial safety and occupational safety 10,978.2


Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing

and Communal Services of Ukraine

Research, scientific and technical developments in the field

of construction, housing and communal services and regional development,

works on state target programs in the field of housing and communal

services development, scientific developments in standardization and

standardization in the field of construction and housing policy,

research on conservation and studying the species of flora in specially

created conditions 6,607.1


Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine

Research, applied scientific and scientific and technical developments,

works on state target programs and government orders in the field

of development of the agro-industrial complex, training of scientific

personnel, scientific developments in the field of standardization

and certification of agricultural products, research and experimental

development in the field of agro-industrial complex 143,009.0


State Agency of Fisheries of Ukraine

Applied scientific and technical developments, execution of works

on state orders in the field of fisheries 2,100.0


State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine

Research, applied development and training of scientific personnel

in the field of forestry 17. 966.6


Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine

Fundamental and applied research in the field of youth and sports 9,419.7


Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine

Applied research in competition policy and law 1,451.2


National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 4,986,318.8


National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine 226,600.1


National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine 3,435,704.1


National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine 51,021.7


National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine 1,282,116.9


Ministry of Finance of Ukraine

State Fiscal Service of Ukraine

Applied research and development in fiscal policy 15,572.1


Total 13,870,753


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