Over half of Ukrainians call their country 'outsider' - poll
Kyiv, September 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Over half of Ukrainians quizzed in a recent poll said their country is an outsider, sociologist from the Research & Branding Group Company Yevhen Kopatko has said.
"Thirty-eight percent of the respondents said that Ukraine is something in the middle between a leader and outsider, moreover, 51% of respondents living in the west of Ukraine support this opinion, and 24% in the east. Moreover, 59% of those polled said Ukraine is an outsider country," he said in Thursday at the press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, 76% of citizens of the western Ukraine and 46% of the citizens in eastern Ukraine share this opinion.
As the sociology expert reported, just 3% of Ukrainians called Ukraine a leading country among the other states of the world according to the 10 rating scale.
However, a half of Ukrainians (51%) said that Ukraine could deserve a better status in the world, while 41% of respondents hold the opposite point of view. There were more pessimists in the east, and more optimists in the west.
In general, Ukrainians are optimistic about the future of Ukraine in 10-15 years. In particular, 13% expect a considerable improvement of the situation and the transformation of Ukraine into a strong and prosperous state. However, 23% of those polled gave the opposite point of view, and expect a worsening of the situation, while 11% said Ukraine would face hard times.
The poll was conducted in all regions of Ukraine on August 20-31, 2013. In general 2,079 people were polled. The poll's margin of error is 2.2%.