Drawing on eight years of experience assessing the transparency of city councils, the Transparent Cities program has compiled key findings about the municipalities studied during this period.

The Transparent Cities program first assessed the transparency of city councils in 2017. At that time, no city surpassed the 75-point threshold required to be classified as transparent. However, in the years that followed, the transparency levels of Ukrainian cities showed steady improvement. The average transparency score across 100 cities rose from 29.9% in 2017 to 48.5% in 2021—an increase of 62.2%. The most significant leap occurred after the first year of assessment, with city transparency improving by approximately 38% in 2018.

In subsequent years, the pace of transparency improvement slowed: from 2019 to 2021, the average transparency level increased by only 2–3 percentage points annually.

The year 2022 marked a turning point, with the average transparency level of cities dropping sharply to 37.5%, breaking the five-year trend of steady improvement. This decline was a direct result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: cities suspended the publication of certain information due to security risks.

By 2023, the average level of city transparency began to gradually recover, reaching 42.3%, and in 2024, it remained relatively stable at 41.6%. However, at the national level, cities have yet to return to the transparency levels seen in 2021, highlighting the long-term impact of the full-scale war on the transparency and openness of local authorities.

Based on the research findings, analysts identified the most successful cities over the 2017–2024 period. 

For the first five years, the study covered the 100 largest cities in Ukraine. However, following the start of the full-scale invasion, the program was forced to reduce this number to 70 municipalities. 

Overall, 69 Ukrainian cities remained part of the study from 2017 to 2024. Between 2017 and 2021, the average transparency level in these cities increased by 54%. However, with the onset of the full-scale war, this progress was disrupted, and the average transparency level dropped to 37.5%. In 2023, the trend began to reverse, with the average rising to 42.3%.

In 2017–2018, analysts assessed the transparency of 13 areas of municipal governance using 91 indicators. From 2019 to 2021, the number of areas increased to 14, while the number of indicators ranged from 86 to 84. In 2022, the assessment was conducted using 40 indicators, without dividing them into thematic areas. By 2023–2024, the analysis resumed a structured approach, evaluating cities across seven areas.

Over the eight-year period, the program assessed a total of 122 cities, including 26 large cities (with populations over 200,000), 39 medium-sized cities (50,000–200,000 residents), and 57 small cities.

Kyiv region was the most represented in the study, while Chernivtsi region had the fewest participating cities.

For more information on the results and trends in municipal transparency, see the City Transparency Ranking 2024.