The absolute majority of Ukrainians oppose the free sale and purchase of farmland, according to the results of the Ukraine in Focus survey conducted by the Rating sociological group from May 22 to May 31.
Only 11 percent of respondents consider it necessary to permit the free purchase and sale of farmland in Ukraine, 25 percent believe that there are no conditions for introducing a free land market, and 53 percent of respondents believe that land should not be a commodity at all. Some 2 percent have a different opinion, and 9 percent – have not decided.
Main support for the development of a free land market is in the western part of the country and among young people.
One third of the respondents said that they personally owned or their family members owned a land parcel. In the western part of the country there are almost half of land owners (47 percent), in the east there are less land owners (20 percent). Among residents of rural areas the owners of land parcels are three times more than among urban residents.
In addition, according to the poll, 63 percent of respondents agree that Ukraine’s cooperation with the IMF leads to a decrease in social standards of living and price hikes. Some 21 percent do not agree with this statement, 17 percent have not yet decided. Some 53 percent of the respondents agree that the countries cooperating with the IMF mostly lose more than they receive. A total of 21 percent of the respondents does not agree with this. Almost a third of the respondents have not yet made up their minds. Some 45 percent agree with the statement that the IMF is helping Ukraine in a difficult period of time, 38 percent do not agree with this, and 17 percent are undecided. Near 39 percent believe that cooperation with the IMF promotes reforms in Ukraine, 40 percent disagree, 21 percent are undecided.
The statements that positively describe the IMF and its cooperation with Ukraine are more supported by the voters of the parties of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and Samopomich, as well as those who trust the IMF. And the statements that describe the IMF negatively are supported by the voters of the parties Za Zhyttia (For Life) and the Opposition Bloc and by those who do not trust the IMF.
Some 19 percent of respondents support the initiative to increase the minimal length of pensionable service up to 25 years, 75 percent – do not support this initiative to some extent, and 6 percent – have not decided. The absolute majority of respondents (95 percent) does not support the initiative to raise the retirement age to 65 years for men and women, 3 percent – support, and 2 percent – are not decided.
More than half of the respondents believe that the state should provide subsidies for utilities, since now, 28 percent believe that it is better to receive financial assistance from the state to improve energy efficiency provided if the utility tariffs are fully paid, and 17 percent are undecided.
Some 3,000 people, aged 18 and older, were questioned face-to-face in the survey. The respondent pool was representative according to age, region and type of residence. The margin of error of the poll was estimated at 1.8 percent.
