Human Capital Chartbook establishes reforms of the labor market, social benefits system, with human capital trends and education funding key priorities in Ukraine for 2026

According to the data, there were 10.2 million pensioners, 1.7 million veterans (2.4 times more than in 2021), 3.6 million people with disabilities, and 4.6 million internally displaced persons with 10.7 million workers in Ukraine in 2025. This significantly increases the demand for financial support from the state in recent years. However, the number of tax-payers has fallen by 1.3 million since 2021. Nevertheless, social protection accumulated $28.2 billion in 2025.
Pensions almost didn’t change in 2025, with wage established by law, and the subsistence minimum still lower than the actual cost of living. Inflation (11.2% in 2025) made the real subsistence minimum rise to $228. The law establishes the minimum at $70, and the minimum wage at $192. This makes 27.6% or 2.8 million pensioners continue working.
Also, two opposing trends are present at the labor market at the same time: employment is falling and unemployment is rising. Unmatching employers’ needs and candidates’ skills or place of living are the main problem. One of possible solutions is comprehensive retraining and employment of veterans and representatives of vulnerable groups.
Other question is the return of Ukrainians from abroad. Approximately 5.9 million Ukrainians were abroad as refugees in 2025. Notably, 90% of them are in EU countries. Women and children consist 75% of refugees. So, the state has to develop more long-term programs for return, support for integration, interaction with citizens abroad, simultaneous employment and residence in two or more countries. Meanwhile, the amounts that regions need for social payments constantly change due to internal migration.
Moreover, funding of the education system in 2025 was 17.4% lower than in 2021, and the number of students is 12.2% lower than in 2021. Less pupils are planning to apply to universities. A critical gap between the actual number of STEM specialists and the need for them to support recovery might arise, creating a crisis in the post-war labor market. Special attention is needed to protect the quality and results of education through targeted support and funding focused on results rather than ‘improving efficiency.’
Hopefully, a package of structural reforms will appear in 2026 to respond to these challenges. They expect labor market reform to be a key priority. The participation of vulnerable groups, particularly women with children, in the labor market should be improved by the new Labor Code. They also expect pension reform to improve the adequacy of pensions and to reduce the risk of poverty. It is equally necessary to develop a new methodology for calculating the subsistence minimum that will better reflect actual living costs and improve the regulation and distribution of social payments.

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