KYIV. Oct 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The absolute minority (2%) of Ukrainian scientists believe that their scientific activities are financed sufficiently, according to a poll conducted by the Rating sociological group.

The results of the survey were presented at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

According to the survey, 55% believe that scientific activity is financed partially, and 35% think that it is not financed at all.

Almost one in four (28%) considers the possibility of leaving the work of a scientist and choosing other activities. The main reason is unsatisfactory wage (87% of respondents) disappointment in the development of Ukrainian science (41%), the insufficient level of financing of scientific developments (57%), and 19% said they would prefer to work in another sphere.

Some 26% of respondents consider the possibility of moving abroad to carry out scientific activities. Among those who think about such "scientific emigration" most of scientists are from Lviv and least of all from Odesa.

At the same time, when asked whether respondents applied over the past five years for scientific grants from the Ukrainian authorities or international organizations, two thirds answered negatively, while only 33% answered positively. At the same time, only one in five of those who applied for such grants received them.

According to the survey, 47% believe that it is difficult to get a grant from international organizations, and only 33% believe that it can be done quite easily.

At the same time, 86% of respondents believe that scientists should engage in the popularization of science, but only 45% said that they are personally engaged in such activities, in particular, they give lectures, publish their works in unscientific journals, comment in the media, and participate in TV programs. In addition, almost 90% of respondents support the idea of creating in Ukraine a center for the popularization of science and support of domestic scientific research.

The study was conducted by the Rating sociological group from September 4 to September 30, 2017, at the request of the Ukrainian Partnership Forum public union, among the staff of scientific institutions of Dnipro, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Kharkiv. A total of 1,000 respondents from 35 scientific institutions were interviewed.