As of mid-May, Ukraine has recorded almost 22,000 foreign entrepreneurs, according to data from the open data platform Opendatabot, citing the Unified State Register.
The report indicates that there are currently 21,967 foreign nationals registered as individual entrepreneurs in Ukraine. Since the onset of the full-scale invasion by Russia, an average of 1,896 foreign business registrations have occurred annually.
Kyiv leads the regions with the highest number of foreign entrepreneurs, totaling 5,216. Kharkiv follows with 3,506, while Odesa ranks third with 3,295. Together, these three areas account for nearly 55% of all foreign entrepreneurs in the country.
Among the foreign entrepreneurs, Russian citizens represent the largest group, making up one in five, or 4,593 individuals. They are followed by Vietnamese (1,994), Azerbaijanis (1,635), Uzbeks (1,469), and Moldovans (1,118). Collectively, these five nationalities comprise almost half of all foreign entrepreneurs in Ukraine.
The retail sector is the most popular among foreign entrepreneurs, with 6,346 individuals engaged in this field.
As of May 20, Opendatabot reports that over 2.1 million individual entrepreneurs are operating in Ukraine. This comes amid a demographic crisis and labor shortages exacerbated by the ongoing conflict.
Recently, the Center for Countering Disinformation highlighted a new wave of social media content that mockingly portrays the future of Ukraine concerning the influx of foreign labor migrants. The center analyzed this content and found numerous Russian channels producing and promoting these narratives. Analysts suggest that these videos and memes aim to incite internal conflicts within Ukrainian society, raising fears about identity loss, population replacement, and the futility of resisting Russian occupation.
Ukraine has seen a significant influx of foreign entrepreneurs, with nearly 22,000 registered as of mid-May. This trend emerges amidst ongoing labor shortages and demographic challenges due to the war.
Source: Opendatabot