OREANDA-NEWS. The Ukrainian economy has degraded over 30 years of independence, now the country lags behind everyone in this area, said Anatoly Amelin, director of economic programs at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future.

Independence Day of Ukraine is celebrated annually on August 24. This year Ukraine celebrates the 30th anniversary of the country's independence.

"If we talk about Ukraine's place in the world economy, we are lagging behind everyone else. In one word, which can be used to characterize 30 years of Ukraine's independence, it is degradation," Amelin said at a press conference on the economic results on Wednesday.

He noted that in 1991 Ukraine ranked 52nd in the world in terms of GDP per capita, which was slightly higher than the countries of Central Europe. At the end of 2020, Ukraine dropped to 91st place.

"If in 1991 we had 6.9 thousand dollars of GDP per capita, now it is 13.1 thousand. That is, an increase of 90%. It would seem that there is growth - not bad. But in the same period in Poland, Hungary and The Czech Republic's indicator has grown from 4 to 6. Therefore, when we say that Ukraine is developing, we are not the time, but when we talk about the fact that we are lagging behind the whole world, for sure it will be a more correct and correct indicator, "- said Amelin.

At the same time, according to him, GDP per capita in Ukraine was inferior even to Belarus, which, after the collapse of the USSR, had the worst preconditions for development.

In addition, according to him, in Ukraine, the purchasing power of the population is low, since 1991 it has grown by only 89% compared to Belarus (278%) and Poland (480%).

Also, Dmitry Babin, an expert on the stock market of BCS World of Investments, calculated for RIA Novosti that the Ukrainian hryvnia has weakened 15 times against the dollar for 25 years of its existence, and since the country's independence, the national currency has fallen in price 90 thousand times.