Social component as a factor and indicator of sustainable development of Ukrainian Polissia region

Official international organizations claim that existing notions about the relationship between a decrease in life expectancy and a reduction in population in affected regions are controversial and are a result of the impact of radioactive emissions from the Chornobyl explosion. However, despite the weak link between the level of radioactive contamination and population dynamics in the studied areas, the level of natural decline in rural population on radioactively contaminated land is significantly higher than in other territories. This indicates the need for further research in this direction. The aim of the study was to clarify the social basis for the implementation of balanced development in radioactively contaminated areas of Ukrainian Polissia. The article presents the results of a study on the role of the social component in the implementation of sustainable development in radioactively contaminated areas of Ukrainian Polissia, taking into account both long-term complex ecological, economic, and social challenges and the potential consequences of Russian military aggression. The methodology of the research is based on a systemic approach, which involves using both modern and classical scientific methods of research, including general scientific methods such as data analysis and synthesis; retrospective and comparative analysis for identifying causal relationships; analytical and synthetic methods for studying scientific and statistical data, archival materials, legislative and regulatory documents, among others; and mathematical methods for the mathematical processing of the obtained results. The research is based on the official statistical data provided by the main statistical departments in Volyn, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Rivne, and Chernihiv regions. Existing trends and results of studies on the interrelation between radioecological and social components have been analyzed. The study examines social indicators of the quality of life of the inhabitants of Ukrainian Polissia region (total income, level of wages, structure of population expenditures, etc.), demographic indicators (population, gender-age structure and population growth/decline), employment rate, morbidity, and consumer basket for rural and urban settlements in the studied regions. It has been established that indicators of the social sphere in the region of Ukrainian Polissіa can serve as additional criteria for assessing the current socio-economic situation and its dynamics. It has been determined that the social factor is an integral component and at the same time a criterion for sustainable development of radioactively contaminated territories. The need for a series of measures aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the state policy on employment of the population and the vocational education system has been proven, taking into account the forecasts of the regional enterprises’ demand for certain skilled personnel by professions and specialties, as well as the list of the most in-demand and promising professions and specialties. The list of such professions is individual for each region