Survey: Half of Ukrainians obtained at least one e-service over the past year

Half of Ukrainians (53 percent of the population) received at least one electronic service in the last 12 months, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology to identify the experiences, needs, and preferences of adult residents of Ukraine in the use of digital services.

The findings of the survey, “Electronic services: experiences, trust, accessibility”, were presented by Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported by the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine. The presentation was held as part of the #All Digital Week in Europe event.

The most popular e-services among Ukrainians are obtaining passports or other services provided by the State Migration Service (mentioned by 15 percent of respondents). Another 13 percent used the Diia application or portal. Similar shares of respondents used e-services to obtain subsidies, benefits, and social payments. 

At the presentation of the survey, Valeriia Ionan, Deputy Minister for European Integration at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, underlined that it is crucial to keep track of people’s attitudes and have real information about their perceptions regarding the state e-services received by 53 percent of Ukrainians over the past year.

“This is important for effective management decisions,” said Ionan. “We will actively work with citizens, especially with elderly people, during the Dia.Digital education project.  This will help raise digital literacy and will enhance trust in the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Government. It will also let people get access to online medical services, pay utility bills, and get subsidies and social payments.”

During the presentation, Manal Fouani, UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine, stressed that the process of digitalization, already underway before 2020, has rapidly accelerated during the pandemic. "The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly fostered the rapid transformation of citizen-oriented services and government business-processes," she said, adding that this has brought about a “new normal” as people commute to work on their laptops.

Fouani acknowledged that despite the unprecedented advances in technology, too many people are left on the undigitized side of the digital divide, leaving them without access to the many benefits.  “And – yes – millions of people worldwide cannot even afford a smartphone or internet access," she said.

Fouani said we must understand what Ukrainians have been using from publicly-available electronic services, what went well in terms of user experience, and where there are opportunities for improvement.

“We must make sure that the human rights-based approach is at the forefront of any digital service, leaving no one behind as the country moves forward in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030," said Fouani.

Of the remaining 47 percent of Ukrainians who did not use e-services, almost a quarter (24 percent) said they lacked skills to do so, and one in five non-users (21 percent) reported having no internet-enabled device to access the services, even if they needed them. 

At the presentation, Volodymyr Brusilovsky, the Project Manager for the “Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Supporting the Digitization of Public Services in Ukraine" (DIA Support) project underlined that these results show that to make life easier for everyone, including all vulnerable groups, e-services should be inclusive and affordable for everyone.

“Now that we have a better understanding of needs and experiences of the use of digital services, we will tailor our support to improve the quality of citizens' access to electronic administrative and social services,” Brusilovsky said.

Background information:

The research was conducted at the request of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the “Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Supporting the Digitization of Public Services in Ukraine" (DIA Support) project with support from the Swedish Embassy. 

The DIA Support project aims to bridge the digital divide between generations and different social groups in Ukraine, specifically seniors and retirees, persons with disabilities, people living below the poverty line, people living in rural areas, young people living in conflict-affected areas, ethnic minorities (especially the Roma population), IDPs, and veterans returning to civilian life.

The report and its datasheets are available through this link and the data in infographic form - here. More information about the DIA Support project may be found here, and the downloadable slide-deck is available at this link.

For media inquiries, please reach out to:

The Ministry of Digital Transformation: Yulia Abramova – abramova@thedigital.gov.ua

UNDP in Ukraine: Yulia Samus – yuliia.samus@undp.org