It has been substantiated that digitalization is a driver of the transformation of employment in different countries.The degree of formation of the digitalized labor market by groups of countries with different levels of per capita income has been studied. It is proved that the use of digital technologies by the vast majority of companies and the economically active population simplifies the procedure of job creation, giving the opportunity to work via the Internet within the so-called “on-demand economy”. With the high degree of implementation of digital, information and communication technologies, the share of employees in the service sector is growing in the majority of countries. It is stated that the degree of digitalization of the labor market is uneven in the world. The introduction of modern technologies in high-income countries allows the population to fully realize the intellectual and creative potential, finding a job in the most efficient sector of the economy – the high-tech and knowledge-intensive services. Despite the rapid spread of digital technologies and the rapid growth of employment in the service sector in the upper-middle-income countries, the level of digital transformation of the labor market is much lower than in the high-income countries. Nowadays, there is a digital divide between these groups of countries, although, with the effective policies of governments in the upper-middle-income countries, there is a high probability of achievement of indicators of countries that are digital leaders. The trend of gradual digitalization of the services sector is also observed in the lower-middle-income countries. It is noted that the low prevalence of information and communication technologies in low-income countries makes it impossible for the population of these countries to join the global digitalized labor market. A set of measures has been systematized to harmonize the policies of governments of different countries in the field of labor relations, which are being transformed under the influence of global digitalization. Keywords: digital technologies, digitalization, employment, global digitalized labor market, high-income countries, lower-middle-income countries, low-income countries, upper-middle-income countries. JEL Classification F66, J24, J40, О33 Formulas: 5; fig.: 4, table.: 0; bibl.: 26.

Nowadays, the agri-food sector is facing fundamental challenges. According to the FAO study, the amount of arable land per capita in the world will decrease from 0.6 hectares per person in 2000 to 0.2 hectares by 2050, while the demand for food will increase by 70%. With today’s yield growth of 1.5% per year, such changes could result in global food shortages. Therefore, the governments of developed and developing countries should support initiatives for the digitization of agri-food businesses and the introduction of new technologies to increase the volume of food production. Russia’s war against Ukraine is the main cause of the global food crisis, which could bring serious political and economic consequences. The agricultural and food sector of Ukraine is about 10% of GDP. For many years, the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex, before the full-scale invasion of Russia, occupied a leading position among the global exporters. Ukraine supplied 10% of world wheat exports, more than 14% of corn and more than 47% of sunflower oil. A full-scale war has become a real test for the Ukrainian agri-food industry. The invasion entailed the destruction of food production processes and logistics chains. Many sowing areas were mined, equipment and warehouses were destroyed. At the end of 2022, Ukraine exported agricultural products worth USD 23.6 billion. Although the figure for 2022 is 15% less than the record of 2021 (USD 27.9 billion), last year’s value of exports became the second since the independence of Ukraine. Disruptions to Ukrainian exports exacerbated the rise in food prices, which, according to the FAO index, increased by 54% in February 2022. In March 2023, prices fell, but they were still 6.4% higher than in 2022. The purpose of the study is to assess the level of digital transformation of the Ukrainian agri-food industry in order to ensure food security at the national and international levels. Digitalization of the agri-food industry in Ukraine should be considered a source of deep systemic transformations, which involves the use of digital technologies at the business level to optimize business operations, increase company productivity, and improve interaction with suppliers and customers. For agri-food companies, the issue of digitalization concerns not only technological modernization, but also a complete change of business processes: farm management systems, data processing and harvest forecasting, agricultural processing, food quality management, systems for creating added value for products, warehouse management systems, and human resources management. Nowadays, digitalization can accelerate the transformation of the agri-food industry across the entire supply chain, from manufacturing and purchasing processes to distribution, logistics and finance. Innovative technologies that can become breakthrough in the agri-food industry are as follows: bioinformatics; synthetic biology; food design; smart farming; vertical farms; aquaculture; bioinformatics; genetics; alternative sources of protein; technology of conservation and extension of the shelf life of food products. In Ukraine, a number of agri-food enterprises are moving to Industry 4.0. The most innovative companies in Ukraine are the largest exporters “Kernel”, “MHP”, “ASTARTA-KYIV”. “Kernel”, a large producer and exporter of sunflower oil, has been successfully implementing innovations for the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine for many years. The company uses digital technologies at all stages—from growing products to sales. The company’s IT team digitized logistics, trading, and document management. All information about the processes taking place in agri-food production is collected in the “Kernel DigitalAgriBusiness” innovative ecosystem. “MHP”, the largest producer and exporter of chicken in Ukraine, continues to use biogas to produce electricity, industrial steam, and heating. “MHP” biogas projects are a significant contribution to the company’s energy independence and environmental responsibility. “ASTARTA-KYIV”, a vertically integrated agricultural holding, developed a complex system of IT solutions for agribusiness management “AgriChain”, which includes management of the land bank of the agricultural company (AgriChain Land), agricultural production (AgriChain Farm), monitoring of crops (AgriChain Scout), logistics of goods (AgriChain Logistics), warehouse management (AgriChain Barn), business processes (AgriChain Kit). Digital transformations are also being followed in the dairy industry. “Bel Shostka Ukraine” company is engaged in the digital transformation of the milk harvesting process. According to our research, breakthrough innovations are predominantly implemented by large Ukrainian agri-food companies, since they have significant financial resources for R&D, while SMEs are concentrating their efforts on the digitalization of business operations and implementation of energy efficient technologies.

The article examines the vector and structural changes in the modern world, caused by exogenous and endogenous factors and identified on the basis of determining the countries status taking into account the processes of changing their positions according to the group affiliation (hegemonic countries, applicant countries, «third world» countries, as well as other countries which gravitate to the world vanguard or rearguard ones). The proposed methodology of research into the countries global status is based on a comprehensive approach to the analysis of socio-natural systems, presented as a combination of economic, political, innovative, social and spiritual spheres, as well as the sphere of functioning of institutions and the sphere of human interaction with nature. The k-means clustering and the fuzzy logic apparatus were used to find out the vector and structural changes taking place in a globalized society. The analysis is based on processing the country data by the following indicators: the KOF Globalization Index, the Legatum Prosperity Index, the Global Competitiveness Index, the Global Innovation Index, the Human Development Index, the Fragile States Index, and the Environmental Performance Index (2009—2018). They were selected as the attributes, the set of which allows to distinguish clusters. The countries were clustered according to the components of their socio-natural systems. According to the Index of Global Status of Countries, the place that belongs to the subjects of international relations was estimated and their status was identified. On this basis, the differences in the development of the countries were detected. Significant differences in the positioning of states in the globalized world were objectified. The conditions of the formation of countries global status and the causes of the status dynamics were revealed. The fact of asymmetry, polarization and inequality progression was proved. It was demonstrated that the study of vector and structural changes occurring in the world economic system and globalized society extends the scientific notion about the present day systemic contradiction of the post-industrial and post-capitalist eras of the globalized world being formed.

It was ascertained that the global status of a country is determined by a set of its characteristics as an entity of international relations identifying the place it occupies among other countries over a certain historical period of time. The global status is defined as the relative position of countries in the system of international relations. The main factors that determine the global status of countries are economic development; achievements in science, technology and innovation; development of social spheres (health care, education, social protection); the outcome of distributing and exercising power within the state (domestic policy) as well as between states (foreign policy); the effectiveness of institutions; and governance efficiency in the field of environmental management. It is proved that the global status of countries depends primarily on how effectively each of its spheres functions in terms of the interests of society’s development. At the same time, it depends on the synergistic effect — the coordinated action of all components of the socio-natural system (aggregate endogenous factor) and the degree of the country inclusion in the system of modern international relations, which is largely due to globalisation (exogenous factor). It is stated that the country’s acquisition of a different global status compared to the previous one reflects the status dynamics. That means a change in the roles played by countries in the system of international relations, i.e. the process of transforming their behavior on the world stage. These starting points of the study of the place and role of individual countries in the modern globalized world became the basis for the analysis of Ukraine’s position (by areas of activity and in general). The global status of Ukraine is defined and interpreted through correlation with the criteria derived from the theory of world-system analysis. Based on these methodological principles, modern problems have been identified and the possibility of further development of Ukraine has been assessed. Keywords: world economy, global status of countries, problems and contradictions of social development, socio-natural system, globalisation. JEL Classification B41, F62, F63, F64, F68 Formulas: 0; fig.: 0; tabl.: 4; bibl.: 27.