Ukraine general overview
Ukraine is a country located in Central-Eastern Europe. It’s the largest European country by a territory (603,628 km2) with the population of about 42 million and 18 million or active labor force (#5 in Europe).
Ukraine is an important partner for the European Union. It is also a member of the EU Eastern Partnership. Additionally, an Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) was signed between the EU and Ukraine and it’s accelerating Ukraine’s economic integration with the EU.
Visas for visitors from most European countries, as well as for visitors from the USA and Canada are not required.
Ukraine has one of the lowest labor cost levels if compared to other Central & Eastern Europe countries.
Ukrainian IT industry
Ukraine is rated as the #4 place for software engineering and data science skills globally. It's well known for its strong math and science educational background.
According to Outsourcing Journal, Ukraine is the #1 digital, technology, and IT outsourcing destination in Central & Eastern Europe.
The number of professionals in the IT industry outnumbered 200,000.
Ukrainian IT industry grows by about 25% every year.
IT is the third-largest exporter of services, with a 20% share of the Ukrainian service export sector.
There are more than 1,600 IT service companies in Ukraine. The main IT tech hubs in Ukraine are Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odessa.
Lviv general overview
Lviv is located in a Western part of Ukraine and is considered a cultural capital, as well as a student town, a city of Jazz, Coffee, and Chocolate.
In the past several years, Lviv has become the #1 tourist destination in Ukraine. It has a favorable geographical location and a welcoming business climate. It’s located only 50 kilometers away from the EU border.
Lviv has more than 30 international air routes, five highways of national importance, and a variety of international transport corridors.
Danylo Halytskyi Lviv Airport (LWO) is the biggest airport in Western Ukraine. The airport was built in 2012 and offers regular flights to central European, Asian, and US cities. It takes less than 2 hours to travel from Munich to Lviv and approximately 10 hours to reach NYC.
Lviv IT industry
Lviv IT-market has more than 450 companies most of which provide software outsourcing services to their US and Europe clients.
About 25,000 IT professionals work in Lviv IT companies and this number keeps growing.
More than 4,000 students graduate with a tech degree every year.
About 20% – the share of the IT industry in the GDP of Lviv in 2018.
In 2018, Lviv IT industry generated about $718M.
Lviv City Council officially declared IT as one of its priority development areas.
Lviv hosts the largest Eastern Europe annual tech event - IT Arena.
