The IT industry is showing positive signals and promises for future Ukrainian economic growth. Some sources are even predicting Ukraine to develop into the Silicon Valley of Europe. In this article, we would like to sum up the main facts and figures about the Ukrainian IT industry for you.
Ukraine is currently home to approximately 125 000 IT developers. Even though new professionals graduate by the tens of thousands each year, this number stays roughly the same as many find work and relocate abroad. Students are very interested in acquiring IT developer skills – with a few years’ work experience they can reach a salary level ten times higher than that of traditional, manual laborers.
About 40 % of developers are located in the capital Kiev, while Kharkiv and Lviv are home to another 15% each. Developer skill sets mostly include mainstream technologies such as Java, MS stack, Web, C/C++, and enterprise solutions. Average salaries start at $ 350 for junior developers and reach into the $ 4000 range for seniors.
IT outsourcing is big in Ukraine, there are over 4000 companies outsourcing IT services to other countries. The total value of their exports amounts to 2-3 billion USD.
The main challenge for the Ukrainian government to facilitate further IT sector growth is increasing investor confidence. Openness to technology ventures should be marketed and business made easier, so that more ventures and IT professionals choose to invest and stay in the country.
