The level of interest in politics of Ukrainian citizens over the past 15 years has fluctuated significantly depending on political events and in 2023 almost reached a maximum value of 62% (only during the Orange Revolution in 2004 it was higher and amounted to 63%).

This is evidenced by data from a survey conducted by the sociological service of the Razumkov Center from September 21 to September 27, 2023 as part of the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact in Ukraine.

"Interest in politics, which was very high in 2004, when turbulent political processes associated with the presidential elections and the Orange Revolution took place (at that time 63% of respondents expressed interest in politics), gradually decreased in subsequent years (which can be considered a sign of increasing political apathy in society), reaching a minimum level in 2012 (then only 32% of respondents expressed interest in politics). After the Revolution of Dignity, interest in political processes increased somewhat (in 2017, some 38% of respondents were interested in it) and increased significantly in 2019 (the year of presidential and parliamentary elections) - the share of those interested in politics increased to 54.5%," according to a press release from the Razumkov Center on the results of the study, distributed at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

Reportedly, in 2023 this figure increased even more to 62% (some 12% are very interested in politics, and 50% are somewhat interested). But 26% of respondents are rather not interested in politics, and 8.5% are not interested at all.

Compared to 2019, interest in politics has increased more among women (from 49% to 59%) than among men (from 61% to 65%), although it remains slightly higher among men than among women. Age and education also influence interest in politics. As in previous years, the older the respondents, the more interested they are in politics (for example, among those aged 18 to 29, 50% are interested in politics, while among those aged 60 or over ˗ 67%).

Respondents with general secondary education are less interested in politics (54%) than respondents with specialized secondary education (61%) and higher education (67%). Residents of the Central region are most interested in politics (67%), and least interested - the Eastern region (54%). "The Eastern region is the only one among the regions where interest in politics has not changed statistically significantly compared to 2019 (in other regions it has increased)," the report notes.

More than half of those surveyed have problems understanding Ukrainian politics at least from time to time. Some 49.5% of respondents expressed a desire to better understand politics. Some 37% of respondents would not like to do this. The higher the level of education of respondents, the more often they express a desire to better understand politics (their share increases from 41% among those with general secondary education to 55% among those with higher education). "The Eastern region is the only one among the regions where the share of those who would not like to understand politics better (48%) exceeds the share of those who would like to (41%)," the message states.

The survey was conducted from September 21 to September 27, 2023, as part of the ENGAGE program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact in Ukraine. The content of the survey is the sole responsibility of Pact and its partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the U.S. Government.

The face-to-face survey was conducted in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy , Chernihiv, Chernivtsi regions and the city of Kyiv (in Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions - only in those territories controlled by the Ukrainian government and in which hostilities are not ongoing).

The survey was conducted using a stratified multi-stage sample using random sampling at the first stages and a quota method for selecting respondents at the final stage (when respondents were selected according to gender and age quotas). The structure of the sample population reproduces the demographic structure of the adult population of the territories where the survey was conducted as of the beginning of 2022 (by age, gender, and type of settlement).

Some 2,016 respondents aged 18 years and over were surveyed. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3.