Ukraine on the Periphery of the Global Scientific System: How Decreasing Funding Affects Its Innovation Potential
Over the past decade, Ukrainian science has experienced significant financial setbacks, placing the country at the margins of the global innovation landscape.
According to data, in recent years, the share of government spending on scientific research and development in Ukraine’s GDP has fallen to a record low of 0.33%.
This figure is nearly 15 times lower than Israel’s investments in science, a country recognized worldwide for its leadership in innovation and intellectual property.
While South Korea, Japan, and China actively implement policies to promote science and education, backing research projects and innovative initiatives, Ukraine faces the opposite trend — a continual reduction in funding and a neglect of the long-term development of its scientific potential.
The secretary of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Volodymyr Khaustov, emphasizes that one of the main reasons behind the crisis in Ukrainian science is the lack of genuine interest from government authorities in fostering scientific development and industrial growth, alongside support for innovations and inventions.
He states that current research spending is predominantly directed towards ‘scopus’ publications rather than breakthrough research aimed at producing practical results, thereby creating a vicious cycle.
Without increased funding and strategic support from the state, Ukraine’s innovative capacity will remain underdeveloped, and inventiveness—limited and disconnected from the market—will stagnate.
Khaustov further questions why Ukrainian inventors are unable to reach international markets and why many scientific ideas remain unrealized on paper.
Without proper financial backing and a clear government strategy, Ukraine finds it difficult to develop its own technologies and compete effectively on the global stage.
The country urgently needs a new approach to science policy, rooted in real value for innovation and effective support for domestic researchers and inventors, in order to uplift Ukraine from its peripheral position in the world of science and technological breakthroughs.