Economy of Kiev:
As most capital cities, Kiev is a major administrative, cultural and scientific centre of the country. It is the largest city in Ukraine in terms of both population and area and enjoys the highest levels of business activity. As of January 1st, 2010 there were around 238,000 business entities registered in Kiev.
Official figures show that between 2004 and 2008 Kyiv's economy outstripped the rest of the country's, growing by an annual average of 11.5%. Following the global financial crisis that began in 2007, Kyiv's economy suffered a severe setback in 2009 with gross regional product contracting by 13.5% in real terms. Although record high, the decline in activity was 1.6 percentage points smaller than that for the country as a whole.
Because the city boasts large and diverse economic base and is not dependent on any single industry and/or company, its unemployment rate has historically been relatively low - only 3.75% over 2005-2008. Indeed, even as the rate of joblessness jumped to 7.1% in 2009, it remained far below the national average of 9.6%.
Kiev is the undisputed center of business and commerce of Ukraine and home to the country's largest companies, such as Naftogaz Ukrainy, Energorynok and Kyivstar. In 2010 the city accounted for 18% of national retail sales and 23% of all construction activity. Indeed, real estate is one of the major forces in Kyiv's economy. Average prices of apartments are the highest in the country and among the highest in eastern Europe. Kiev also ranks high in terms of commercial real estate for it is here where the country's tallest office buildings (such as Continental and Parus) and some of Ukraine's biggest shopping malls (such as Dream Town and Sky Mall) are located.

Industry:
Primary industries in Kiev include utilities - i.e., electricity, gas and water supply (26% of total industrial output), manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco products (22%), chemical (17%), mechanical engineering (13%) and manufacture of paper and paper products, including publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media (11%). The Institute of Oil Transportation is headquartered here.