The Socio-Economic Determinants for the Healthy Population in EU countries and Ukraine: The Cluster Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31767/su.2(113)2026.02.07Keywords:
socio-economic indicators, demographic indicators, healthy population, birth rate, mortality rate, life expectancy at birth, gross domestic product GDP, healthcare, clustering, discriminant analysisAbstract
The notion “healthy population” and its underlining indicators are characterized. The applicability of cluster and discriminant analysis for statistical studies of country classification by socio-economic, demographic, etc. development is substantiated. The principal algorithms involved in cluster analysis are described. It is shown that various statistical estimates and healthy-society indices put the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and some others on the top of rankings. The authors selected six socio-economic and demographic indicators (mortality ratio, children mortality ratio, birth ratio, life expectancy at birth, healthcare spending per capita, and GDP per capita) providing the clearest picture of the demographic situation and socio-economic performance in a country. Based in the results of a cluster analysis of the status and dynamics of the healthy population in EU countries, the authors determined four clusters for 2020 and five for 2023. A separate cluster included two countries (Luxemburg, and Ireland) that had the highest development level in economy and healthcare. Another cluster incorporated the countries with a robust upward trend in healthy society: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and Sweden. The third cluster covered the countries with the medium development level in 2020: Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia. Some socio-economic and demographic shifts caused a redistribution: in 2023, a separate second cluster included France, Italy, Cyprus, and Malta. The fourth cluster for 2020, which is the fifth one for 2023, included the countries of Central and South-East Europe with the lowest economic and demographic indicators. The results of discriminant analysis allowed the authors to include Ukraine in the fourth cluster. A low birth ratio (7‰), a high mortality ratio (15 persons per 1,000 population, and seven dead children younger than one year per 1,000 live-born), a low life expectancy at birth (73 years) compared with developed European counties (more than 82 years) give evidence of a prolonged depopulation in Ukraine. The economic performance in Ukraine is low as well: per capita GDP amounted to 3,300 euro in 2020 and 4,400 euro in 2023, whereas in the neighboring Poland it was 14,200 and 20,500 euro, respectively. Allocations for healthcare are also extremely low: 90 euro per capita in 2020 and 120 in 2023. This figure ranges in EU from 1,000 to 7,000 euro per capita. The authors observe that because official population statistics in Ukraine has been unavailable since 2022, demographic indicators should be used for analysis with precaution.
Downloads
References
2021 GHS Index Country Profile for Ukraine. (2021). Global health security index. Retrieved from https://ghsindex.org/country/ukraine Miller L. J., & Lu W. These Are the World’s Healthiest Nations. (2019). Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-24/spain-tops-italy-as-world-s-healthiest-nation-while-u-s-slips OECD. (2025). Health at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2025/11/health-at-a-glance-2025_a894f72e/8f9e3f98-en.pdf World Health Organization. European Region. (2025). Health needs assessment of the adult population in Ukraine: survey report. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2025-6904-46670-77785 Kowal, P., Chatterji, S., Naidoo, N., Biritwum, R., Fan, W., & Ridaura, R. L., et al. (2012). Data resource profile: the World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE). International Journal of Epidemiology, 41, 6, 1639–1649. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dys210 Finucane, M. M., Paciorek, C. J., Danaei, G., & Ezzati, M. (2014). Bayesian estimation of population-level trends in health status. Statistical Science, 29, 1, 18–25. DOI: 10.1214/13-STS427 Liu, R. (March 2025). The Evolution of Health Investment: Historical Motivations and Fertility Implications. Kyushu University Working Paper. DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2503.00391 Iradukunda, R., Rowe, F., & Pietrostefani, E. (2025). Estimating internal displacement in Ukraine from high-frequency GPS mobile phone data. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, аrticle number: 1863. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-06137-4 Menezes de Araujo, P., Gormley, I., & Murphy, T. (2025). Clustering country-level mortality data: a review. arXiv:2512.04831 [stat.AP]. arxiv.org. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2512.04831 Miao, Z., Li, H., & Chen, Y. (2025). Gradient boosted multi-population mortality modelling with high-frequency data. arXiv:2507.09983v1 [stat.AP]. arxiv.org. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.09983 Parente, P., Melnyk., A, Lombardo, P., Villani, L., Grossi, A., & Goletti, M. (2023). Demographic and epidemiological characteristics of Ukrainian refugees in an Italian Local Health Authority. European Journal of Public Health, 33, 5, 815–820. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad130 Libanova, E. M. (2025). Lіudskyі kapital Ukrainy: vtraty vnaslidok viіny i perspektyvy povoіennoho vidrodzhennіa (stenohrama dopovidi na zasidanni Prezydii NAN Ukrainy 05.02.2025 r.) [Human capital of Ukraine: losses due to the war and prospects for post-war revival (transcript of scientific report at the meeting of the Presidium of NAS of Ukraine, February 5, 2025)]. Visnyk Natsionalnoi akademii nauk Ukrainy – Visnyk of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 4, 39–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/visn2025.04.039 [in Ukrainian]. Libanova, E. M. (2022). Pro otsiniuvannia masshtabiv i naslidkiv vymushenykh zovnishnikh mihratsii naselennia Ukrainy (stenohrama dopovidi na zasidanni Prezydii NAN Ukrainy 23.03.2022 r.) [On Assessing the Scale and Consequences of Forced External Migration of The Population of Ukraine (transcript of the report at the meeting of the Presidium of NAS of Ukraine, March 23, 2022)]. Visnyk Natsionalnoi akademii nauk Ukrainy – Visnyk of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5, 17–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/visn2022.05.017 [in Ukrainian]. Hladun, O., Puhachova, M., Aksyonova, S., & Krimer, B. (2025). Vidtvorennia naselennia pislia intensyvnykh voiennykh konfliktiv [Population Reproduction After IntenseMilitary Conflicts]. Demohrafiia ta sotsialna ekonomika – Demography and Social Economy, 3 (61). S. 3–24. https://doi.org/10.15407/dse2025.03.003 [in Ukrainian]. Gladun, O. M. (2024). Vplyv rosiisko-ukrainskoi viiny na demohrafichnu sytuatsiiu v Ukraini [The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the demographic situation in Ukraine]. Visnyk Natsionalnoi akademii nauk Ukrainy – Visnyk of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5, 50–54. doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/visn2024.05.050 [in Ukrainian]. Parkhomenko, O. H., Nefedova, N. E., & Nikolayeva, О. І. (2023). Mortality of the Population of Ukraine, Modern Transformations, Social and Economical Factors. Visnyk Odeskoho natsionalnoho universytetu – Odesa National University Herald, 28, 2 (43). С. 79–89. https://doi.org/10.18524/2303-9914.2023.2(43).292737 Petrivskyi, O. O. (2025). Demohrafichna sytuatsiia v Ukraini: perspektyvy vykhodu z kryzy ta minimizatsiia yii vplyvu na rozvytok ekonomiky krainy [Demographic Situation in Ukraine: Prospects for Overcoming the Crisis and Minimizing Its Impact on the Country’s Economic Development]. Ekonomika ta suspilstvo – Economy and Society, 77. https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2025-77-3 [in Ukrainian]. Lekhan, V. M., Kryachkova, L. V. (2019). Systema zakhodiv polipshennia zdorovia naselennia Ukrainy na osnovi analizu hlobalnoho tiaharia khvorob ta faktoriv ryzyku [he system of measures to improve the health of the population of Ukraine based on the analysis of the global burden of diseases and its risk factors]. Medychni perspektyvy – Medicni perspektivi, 24, 3, 113–122. https://doi.org/10.26641/2307-0404.2019.3.181893 [in Ukrainian].
19. Orlova, N. M. Pylypchuk, V. L., Demchuk, A. V., Holovchanska-Pushkar, S. Ye, Zadorozhniuk, O. V., & Klimas, L. A. (2024). Neinfektsiini zakhvoriuvannia yak zahroza hromadskomu zdoroviu naselennia Ukrainy [Non-communicable diseases as a threat to the public health of Ukraine]. Visnyk Vinnytskoho natsionalnoho medychnoho universytetu – Reports of Vinnytsia National Medical University, 28, 3, 502–510. https://doi.org/10.31393/reports-vnmedical-2024-28(3)-21 [in Ukrainian].
20. Ryngach, N. О., & Vlasyk, L. Y. (2021). Tsinnist zdorovia v Ukraini: vid deklaratsii do realizatsii [The Value of Health in Ukraine: from Declaration to Implementation]. Demohrafiia ta sotsialna ekonomika — Demography and social economy, 2 (44), 74–91. https://doi.org/10.15407/dse2021.02.074 [in Ukrainian].
21. Eurostat. Database. Retrieved February 11, 2026 from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
22. Gerasimenko, S. S., Holubova, H. V., Potapova, M. Yu., & Chervona, S. P. (2022). Statystyka [Statistics]. O. H. Osaulenko (Ed.). Kyiv: NASOA. Retrieved from https://ir.nasoa.edu.ua/handle/123456789/1479 [in Ukrainian].
23. UkrStat. Main Indicators. Retrieved February 11, 2026 https://stat.gov.ua/en
24. Ministry of Health of Ukraine. (2024). Shchorichnyi zvit pro stan zdorovia naselennia Ukrainy ta epidemiolohichnu sytuatsiu za 2023 rik [Annual report on the health status of the population of Ukraine and the epidemiological situation for 2023]. Retrieved February 11, 2026 from https://moz.gov.ua/storage/uploads/386da5b2-66ed-4e85-932c-d9828ba76a7a/Шчоричний-звит-за-2023-рик.pdf [in Ukrainian].
25. Teriukhanova, M. (May 13, 2025). Yaka smertnist v Ukraini ta chy perevyshchuie vona narodzhuvanist: statystyka za 5 rokiv [What is the mortality rate in Ukraine and does it exceed the birth rate: statistics for 5 years]. Fakty. Retrieved from https://fakty.com.ua/ua/ukraine/20250513-yaka-smertnist-v-ukrayini-ta-chy-perevyshhuye-vona-narodzhuvanist-statystyka-za-5-rokiv/ [in Ukrainian].
26. World Bank Group. Ukraine. Social Indicators. Retrieved February 11, 2026 from https://data.worldbank.org/country/ukraine
27. Vydatky derzhavnoho byudzhetu Ukrainy (funktsionalna klasyfikatsiia) u 2023 r. na 01.01.2024 r. [State budget expenditures of Ukraine (functional classification) in 2023 as of January 01, 2024]. index.minfin.com.ua. Retrieved February 11, 2026 from https://index.minfin.com.ua/ua/finance/budget/gov/expense/2023/ [in Ukrainian].
28. Ofitsiinyi kurs hryvni shchodo inozemnykh valiut (serednii za period) [Official exchange rate of the hryvnia against foreign currencies (average for the period)]. Retrieved February 11, 2026 from https://bank.gov.ua/ua/markets/exchangerates [in Ukrainian].
29. Chervona, S. P. (2025). Osoblyvosti informatsiinoho zabezpechennia statystychnoho doslidzhennia chyselnosti ta rukhu naselennia v Ukraini v umovakh viiny [Peculiarities of information support of statistical research on the size and movement of the population in Ukraine in wartime]. Proceedings from Strategy of development of Ukraine: financial, economic and humanitarian aspects: XII Mizhnarodna naukovo-praktychna konferentsiia – 12th International Scientific and Practical Conference. (Part 2, pp. 472–474). Kyiv: Interservis. Retrieved from https://ir.nasoa.edu.ua/handle/123456789/1982 [in Ukrainian].
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Statistics of Ukraine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
