In Ukraine, digitalisation is not just a loud word. It is a real result that both the state and its citizens can see. This is also proven by a new study from Civitta, commissioned by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine with the support of EGAP Program, which is implemented by East Europe Foundation with the support of Switzerland. According to the study, since 2020, the economic effect of the services in the Diia application has already exceeded 184 billion hryvnias, which is 100 times more than what was spent on its development.

The cost of a single service for the state has decreased sixfold:

• car registration or re-registration: before digitalisation — 5,398 hryvnias, now — 1,369 hryvnias;
• single tax payer declaration: previously — 467 hryvnias, now — 182 hryvnias.

“For Switzerland, supporting Ukraine’s digital transformation is a contribution to a transparent, modern, and effective state. Every online service is not only a convenience for citizens but also an effective anti-corruption tool that increases public trust in the authorities,” said Jacques Gerber, the Switzerland’s Federal Council Delegate for Ukraine, Ambassador, during the study’s presentation.

Each year, the transition of basic services to Diia allows for budget savings of approximately 48 billion hryvnias — almost eight annual budgets for Mykolaiv. If all services are digitised, savings will increase to 74.9 billion hryvnias, and the impact on GDP will reach 5.3% by 2035.

“Throughout the period of digitalisation, Diia has saved Ukrainians about 184 billion hryvnias. This is hundreds of millions of hours that people did not spend in queues and government offices. This is money that remained with citizens and businesses. These are services without bribes and intermediaries. Each digital service kills another corruption scheme and makes the state transparent and convenient for people,” noted Mykhailo Fedorov, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation.

Digital services are not only about saving money but also about the comfort of every Ukrainian. Registering a car now takes 10 minutes in the application, instead of several hours in offices. And state support programmes — eRecovery, eOselia, or eWork — have become available without queues and bureaucracy, saving people billions in time equivalent.

“Digitalisation is not just about technology, it’s about people. It saves billions for the state and thousands of hryvnias for every family, but most importantly, it returns people’s time and destroys corruption schemes. Thanks to the support of the Government of Switzerland, Ukraine is becoming a world example of how digital solutions are changing the state from within,” emphasised Victor Liakh, President of East Europe Foundation.

The study paid special attention to services that are most vulnerable to corruption. Digitalizing their provision reduced costs by 76%, generating annual savings of 4.5 billion hryvnias. Where decisions were previously made “through connections,” today transparent algorithms are at work.

Thus, digitalisation optimises 59.2 billion hryvnias in annual expenditures, and the maximum effect could reach 86.4 billion hryvnias. This proves that every hryvnia invested in Diia returns 100 times more to Ukraine.

The study was conducted by Civitta and commissioned by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine with the support of EGAP Program, which supports Diia and is implemented by East Europe Foundation with the support of Switzerland.