The poll reveals a higher level of pessimism / Photo from ua.depositphotos.com

Most of Ukrainians said they felt happy in 2020.

These are findings of a survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation jointly with Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

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Despite the coronavirus epidemic and economic problems, 8.5% of respondents noted that they were very happy and 45.5% were mostly happy in 2020.

Yet, sociologists note that this is the lowest level of happiness compared to 2018-2019 (in 2018, some 12% of pollees said they were very happy and 47.6% said they were mostly happy; in 2019, the figures were 11.9% and 49.2%, respectively).

What is more, this year saw the largest share of respondents who stated they felt mostly unhappy (29%) and completely unhappy (9%).

According to the poll, the most common feelings that Ukrainians felt at the end of 2020 when thinking about the country's future were hope (43%), optimism (31%), and anxiety (28%).

In addition, the findings of the survey indicate that the epidemic and economic crisis affected Ukrainians' perception of the future. In particular, the share of respondents who feel hope shrank to 43%, which is smaller than in 2018-2019 (in those years, it was 52% and 56%, respectively). The level of optimism also decreased compared to the two years before. A mere 8% of respondents said they were confident (in 2019 it was 18%).

According to sociologists, the number of those who feel hopeless has doubled: now their share is 14% of pollees, while a year ago there it was a mere 6%. The number of Ukrainians who are distracted also increased – now their share is 18%. Sociologists note that exactly so many distracted were recorded in 2015.

The results of the survey showed that pessimism increased slightly: from 5.5% at the end of 2019 to 8% in December 2020. The epidemic had almost no effect on such feelings as anxiety (28%), fear (9%), and indifference (4%).

In addition, over 80% of Ukrainians are optimistic about their prospects for the next year. In particular, 21% of respondents believe that the coming year will be the best for them personally, and another 62% hope that it will be better than worse.

Details of the survey

  • The survey was conducted from December 5 to December 13 in all regions of Ukraine, except for Russia-occupied parts, namely Crimea and some districts in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
  • The margin of error does not exceed 3.3%.