The youth of Ukraine in the period of social turbulence 2019–2021

Abstract

The article considers the main problems of the situation and development of youth in Ukraine during the period of social turbulence 2019–2021. Youth is the main resource of society and the main component of human capital, which is being fought for in developed countries. In recent years, Ukraine has faced the loss of this resource due to depopulation and migration. The problems of young people, which emerged in the pre-war years, are now becoming unprecedentedly acute. The first step on the way to a solution is an in-depth analysis of the key problems and features of young people's lives. The authors analyze the spheres of education, employment and work, housing conditions, consumption and leisure, health practices, and social interactions of Ukrainian youth. Special attention is drawn to the differences in ways of life constructing by young men and women, considering that the main areas of life are determined by gender differences in life opportunities. In addition to gender differences, the age subgroup is also a determinant. The most noticeable difference in value orientations and outlook is that the younger they are, the more open they are to change and seek self-affirmation. The youngest subgroup was also the most optimistic, regardless of economic level, and the least religious. In general, in recent decades there has been a diversification of lifestyles thanks to the emergence of new economic, informational, cultural, and political perspectives. The empirical basis of research is a series of data of domestic and foreign studies: the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on the sex-age distribution of the population of Ukraine, the annual monitoring study of Ukrainian society, the Info Sapiens survey for the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), the ninth periodic report of Ukraine on the implementation of the Convention of the United Nations Organization, the study of Ukrainian women entrepreneurs, the study of the sociological group "Rating", the report "World Values Survey–2020. Ukraine", the report on the situation of the youth of Ukraine "Youth on the labor market: 21st century skills and career building", a representative sociological study of the situation of youth in Ukraine.