The Ukrainian economy is growing again, with GDP rising 0.9% in May
In May 2026, Ukraine’s real GDP grew by 0.9% year-over-year, continuing its recovery trend. This positive trend has been observed for the third consecutive month following a decline at the beginning of the year.
After two months of decline—1.4% in January and 1.5% in February—the economy shifted to growth: 0.8% in March, 0.7% in April, and 0.9% in May. The key driver of this growth was stabilization in the energy sector, which supported the manufacturing industry.
In May, Ukraine imported 398,000 MWh of electricity—29% less than in April. In contrast, electricity exports increased 2.8-fold, reaching 94,000 MWh. No power shortages were recorded in the grid: shortfalls in certain types of generation were offset by solar power plants and imports.
The manufacturing sector grew by 2% year-over-year. The extractive sector grew by 6%, thanks to increased gas production despite infrastructure damage from Russian strikes. At the same time, electricity generation and gas distribution declined by 6.5%.
Domestic demand continues to support economic activity: trade grew by 4.8%. Construction grew by about 5% year-over-year. The decline in the transportation sector slowed to 4.2%.
In May, 3.12 million metric tons of grain were transported by rail—5.8% more than in April, marking the highest monthly figure since the beginning of 2026.
These figures were published by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER).
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