Since the launch of the state program “eBook” in December 2024, Ukrainians have purchased almost 500 thousand books. According to data of the Ukrainian Book Institute, more than 279 thousand participants received payments to their accounts, the total amount of which exceeded 256 million hryvnias. The program allows citizens who have reached the age of 18 to receive assistance for the purchase of publications in the Ukrainian language.
In the first three months of 2026 alone, young people submitted almost 34 thousand applications for funds. During this period, about 64 thousand books were purchased, which is an average of more than 700 copies per day. The service is most actively used by residents of Kyiv, as well as Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Poltava regions.
The most popular among readers is fiction, while non-fiction takes a second place. Among foreign authors, young people most often choose works by Colleen Hoover, Penelope Douglas and Tess Gerritsen. In the Ukrainian segment, the leaders of reader sympathy remain Serhiy Zhadan, Lina Kostenko, Max Kidruk, Ilarion Pavlyuk and Volodymyr Stanchyshyn.
From January 1, 2026, the amount of payment under the program is 998.4 hryvnias. The money can be spent for three months on paper, electronic or audio books in over 300 stationary bookstores and online stores that have joined the initiative. The process of receiving assistance is maximally digitalized and is carried out through the mobile application “Diya”.
The “eBook” program has become an important tool for supporting the publishing industry and popularizing reading among young people. Statistics demonstrate a steady demand for intellectual leisure, which contributes to the development of the Ukrainian book market in the face of modern challenges.
Reading trends indicate the interest of young people in both light genres and deep psychological or historical literature.
