SOCIAL SECURITY IN UKRAINE: ANALYSIS, MEASUREMENT METHODS, AND APPROACHES TO IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the state and prospects of social security in Ukraine amid the current turbulent challenges and martial law. It argues that social security is the fundamental basis of national stability, where the country's future development directly depends on the human factor — the quality of human capital, personnel security, and management efficiency. Particular attention is paid to the development and testing of a methodology for measuring the level of social security by calculating an integral indicator. For express analysis, a system of seven standardized indicators covering demographic, economic, environmental, and legal aspects is proposed: morbidity rates; population growth dynamics; environmental efficiency index; unemployment rate according to the ILO methodology; gross domestic income per capita; Gini coefficient; and crime index. The proposed interpretation scale allows classification of security status as acceptable, risky, or unacceptable (critical). The study identified critical threats, including excessively high mortality among the working-age population, which significantly exceeds the rates in other countries and indicates the unsatisfactory state of the healthcare system and difficult working conditions. An analysis of the labor market for the period 2000–2021 showed that the Ukrainian economy is in a state of constant crisis, and demographic «shrinkage» due to low birth rates and migration threatens the future labor potential. It has been established that the level of social security in Ukraine is predominantly risky, and armed aggression only exacerbates existing socio-economic problems. The scientific novelty of the work lies in 1) substantiating the conclusion that ensuring a high level of social security requires political and socio-economic stability, which requires measures aimed at the country's sustainability; 2) the formation of a list of strategic measures to strengthen social security, including: stimulating the birth rate through housing loan benefits, introducing tax preferences for enterprises that support employees with family responsibilities, and revising the policy of remuneration in the budgetary sphere. The need to adopt a single strategic document that would enshrine the principles of human-centeredness and the interconnection of social security with the state's national security doctrine was emphasized.