The number of bankruptcy cases for individuals has increased by 2.2 times in 2024

Since the beginning of the year, 343 Ukrainians have filed for insolvency in court. The number of bankruptcy cases for individuals has increased 2.2 times compared to the same period last year. Notably, 575 people were declared bankrupt throughout the entire last year.

The fewest bankruptcy cases for individuals were opened in 2019, the first year the law allowed citizens to declare themselves insolvent through the court. Only 22 cases were opened that year. Since then, the number of people seeking to declare themselves insolvent has steadily increased: by 8.3 times in 2020 and by 2.7 times in 2021.

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Number of bankruptcy cases

Year	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Number of cases	22	183	496	374	575	343

«In my opinion, court statistics do not reflect the real number of debtors in difficult situations who would benefit from the bankruptcy procedure. However, this procedure is not well-known or widespread among Ukrainians, and there are several reasons for this: it is expensive, complicated, and unclear without the help of a lawyer, which debtors often cannot afford. Additionally, creditors and financial institutions are not very eager to submit their claims in such court cases, hoping to recover the debt after the person’s solvency is restored and save on legal costs, or they try to sabotage the procedure by discrediting the debtor. On the other hand, citizens also need to understand that this procedure is not about debt forgiveness, but about trying to reach an agreement with creditors through a judicial process and an arbitration manager» 

— comments Denys Pavlovych Lykhopyok, a lawyer, arbitration manager, member of the Qualification Commission of Arbitration Managers, and a bankruptcy expert.

Overall, a total of 1,993 bankruptcy cases have been opened for Ukrainians. Half of the bankrupt individuals are aged between 25 and 45: 58% or over 1.1 thousand. One-third of the bankrupt individuals are older than 45 years — 38.3% or 764 people. The fewest bankruptcies are among young people under 25 years old — only 3.7%.

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At what age do Ukrainians most often become bankrupt?

Younger than 25	74	3.7%
25-45 years old	1,155	58.0%
Older than 45	764	38.3%

The gender distribution of bankruptcies is nearly equal: 54% of all bankrupts are men, while 46% are women.

Context

The Verkhovna Rada allowed individuals to gain bankruptcy status in October 2018. The procedure became fully operational in 2019. Since then, a person who finds themselves in a difficult financial situation can initiate their own bankruptcy and, after completing the procedure, be freed from debts.