Chernihiv

The Chernihiv Region is located in northern Ukraine. The administrative center is the city of Chernihiv. It borders the Sumy, Poltava, and Kyiv Regions, as well as Belarus and Russia. The Chernihiv Region lies 140 km from Kyiv, 506 km from Kharkiv Airport, and 610 km from the Odesa seaport. Administratively, the area is divided into 5 districts. In total, there are 45 cities, 30 urban-type settlements, and 1,489 villages.

The economy of the Region is focused on oil and natural gas production, transport, mechanical engineering, and the tobacco and textile industries. A large tobacco factory operates in Pryluky, while enterprises in mechanical engineering, electronics, and brewing are concentrated in Chernihiv.

In the first half of 2024, the Chernihiv Region attracted $668.1 million in foreign direct investment, which is 1.1% more than at the end of 2023 and 11.1% more than in 2021. The largest amount of investment is concentrated in industry – $381.1 million (57%), as well as in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries – $277.9 million (41.6%). The share of investment in the agricultural sector increased from 2.8% in 2017 to over 40% in 2024, indicating a strengthening of the agro-industrial complex’s role in the Regional economy.

Industry specialization includes mechanical engineering (electronic and optical devices, medical equipment, agricultural machinery); chemical and petrochemical industries (oil refining products, plastics); light industry (wool and semi-wool fabrics, footwear); construction and woodworking (parquet and wood products, wallpaper, paints, building mixtures); and the food industry (dairy products, oils, alcohol, pasta, and beverages).

Natural resources comprise deposits of oil and gas, glass sand, peat, bischofite, cement raw materials, expanded clay, brick and tile clays, and building chalk.

The Region hosts six universities and three technical schools, including leading institutions such as Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, Taras Shevchenko National University “Chernihiv Collegium”, and the Chernihiv Institute of Information, Business and Law.

In 2023, the unemployment rate in the Region was 12.4% (compared to the national average of 9.9%), and the average salary was $491 (the national average being $627).