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Introduction | Ukraine

Background: | Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006. An early legislative election, brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007, saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, as head of an "Orange" coalition, installed as a new prime minister in December 2007.

Geography | Ukraine

Location: | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
Geographic coordinates: | 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: | Asia, Europe
Area: | total: 603,700 sq km land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: | total: 4,663 km border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 526 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 97 km
Coastline: | 2,782 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
Climate: | temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
Terrain: | most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Natural resources: | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land
Land use: | arable land: 53.8% permanent crops: 1.5% other: 44.7% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 22,080 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources: | 139.5 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 37.53 cu km/yr (12%/35%/52%) per capita: 807 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards: | NA
Environment - current issues: | inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
Geography - note: | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe

People | Ukraine

Population: | 45,994,287 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 13.9% (male 3,277,905/female 3,106,012) 15-64 years: 70% (male 15,443,818/female 16,767,931) 65 years and over: 16.1% (male 2,489,235/female 4,909,386) (2008 est.)
Median age: | total: 39.4 years male: 36.1 years female: 42.5 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate: | -0.651% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: | 9.55 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate: | 15.93 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 9.23 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 68.06 years male: 62.24 years female: 74.24 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.25 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1.4% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 360,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 20,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Ukrainian(s) adjective: Ukrainian
Ethnic groups: | Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001 census)
Religions: | Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Protestant 2.2%, Jewish 0.6%, other 3.2% (2006 est.)
Languages: | Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.4% male: 99.7% female: 99.2% (2001 census)

Government | Ukraine

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ukraine local long form: none local short form: Ukrayina former: Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type: | republic
Capital: | name: Kyiv (Kiev) geographic coordinates: 50 26 N, 30 31 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions: | 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Dnipropetrovs'k, Donets'k, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmel'nyts'kyy, Kirovohrad, Kyiv**, Kyiv, Luhans'k, L'viv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol'**, Sumy, Ternopil', Vinnytsya, Volyn' (Luts'k), Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence: | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 24 August (1991); note - 22 January 1918, the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia) and the day the short-lived Western and Central Ukrainian republics united (1919), is now celebrated as Unity Day
Constitution: | adopted 28 June 1996
Legal system: | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (since 18 December 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr TURCHYNOV (since 18 December 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Hryhoriy NEMYRYA and Ivan VASYUNYK (since 18 December 2007) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers selected by the prime minister; the only exceptions are the foreign and defense ministers, who are chosen by the president note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Secretariat helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - a special repeat runoff presidential election between Viktor YUSHCHENKO and Viktor YANUKOVYCH took place on 26 December 2004 after the earlier 21 November 2004 contest - won by YANUKOVYCH - was invalidated by the Ukrainian Supreme Court because of widespread and significant violations; under constitutional reforms that went into effect 1 January 2006, the majority in parliament takes the lead in naming the prime minister election results: Viktor YUSHCHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YUSHCHENKO 52%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2%
Legislative branch: | unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; members allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Party of Regions 34.4%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 30.7%, Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 14.2%, CPU 5.4%, Lytvyn bloc 4%, other parties 11.3%; seats by party/bloc - Party of Regions 175, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 156, Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 72, CPU 27, Lytvyn bloc 20
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: | Christian Democratic Union [Volodymyr STRETOVYCH]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; European Party of Ukraine [Mykola KATERYNCHUK]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; Forward Ukraine! [Viktor MUSIYAKA]; Labor Party of Ukraine [Mykola SYROTA]; People's Union Our Ukraine [Vyacheslav KYRYLENKO]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Party of the Defenders of the Fatherland [Yuriy Karmazin]; People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) [Borys TARASYUK]; People's Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; PORA! (It's Time!) party [Vladyslav KASKIV]; Progressive Socialist Party [Natalya VITRENKO]; Reforms and Order Party [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Party of Regions [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Republican Party [Yuriy BOYKO]; Sobor [Anatoliy MATVIYENKO]; Social Democratic Party [Yevhen KORNICHUK]; Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o) [Yuriy ZAHORODNIY]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; Viche [Inna BOHOSLOVSKA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]; Peoples' Self-Defense [Yuriy LUTSENKO]
International organization participation: | Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Oleh V. SHAMSHUR chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador William B. TAYLOR Jr. embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street, 04053 Kyiv mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850 telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085
Flag description: | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky

Economy | Ukraine

Economy - overview: | After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Shortly after independence was ratified in December 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Ukraine depends on imports to meet about three-fourths of its annual oil and natural gas requirements. A dispute with Russia over pricing in late 2005 and early 2006 led to a temporary gas cut-off; Ukraine concluded a deal with Russia in January 2006 that almost doubled the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. Ukrainian Government officials eliminated most tax and customs privileges in a March 2005 budget law, bringing more economic activity out of Ukraine's large shadow economy, but more improvements are needed, including fighting corruption, developing capital markets, and improving the legislative framework. Ukraine's economy remains buoyant despite political turmoil between the Prime Minister and President. Real GDP growth reached about 7% in 2006-07, fueled by high global prices for steel - Ukraine's top export - and by strong domestic consumption, spurred by rising pensions and wages. Although the economy is likely to expand in 2008, long-term growth could be threatened by the government's plans to reinstate tax, trade, and customs privileges and to maintain restrictive grain export quotas.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $320.1 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $140.5 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 7.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $6,900 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 9.1% industry: 32.3% services: 58.7% (2007 est.)
Labor force: | 21.58 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 25% industry: 20% services: 55% (1996)
Unemployment rate: | 2.3% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is nearly 7% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 37.7% (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 25.7% (2006)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 31 (2006)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 12.8% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 26.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $43.54 billion expenditures: $45.06 billion; note - this is the planned, consolidated budget (2007 est.)
Public debt: | 11.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products: | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Industries: | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Industrial production growth rate: | 6% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production: | 192.1 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 48.6% hydro: 7.9% nuclear: 43.5% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 181.9 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports: | 10.07 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports: | 20 billion kWh (2006)
Oil - production: | 90,400 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - consumption: | 284,600 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - exports: | 214,600 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: | 469,600 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves: | 395 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production: | 20.85 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 73.94 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 4 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 57.09 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.075 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance: | -$5.918 billion (2007 est.)
Exports: | $49.84 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities: | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners: | Russia 21.4%, Turkey 7.1%, Italy 6.3%, US 4.1% (2006)
Imports: | $60.41 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities: | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners: | Russia 28.3%, Germany 11.7%, Poland 7.6%, China 7%, Turkmenistan 5.7% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient: | $409.6 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $32.48 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external: | $69.19 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $31.08 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $895 million (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $42.87 billion (2006)
Currency (code): | hryvnia (UAH)
Currency code: | UAH
Exchange rates: | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.05 (2007), 5.05 (2006), 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004), 5.3327 (2003)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Ukraine

Telephones - main lines in use: | 12.341 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 49.076 million (2006)
Telephone system: | general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile-cellular system domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is rising and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital and a majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations; improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag; the mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding rapidly international: country code - 380; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and 3 Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems
Radio broadcast stations: | 524 (station types NA) (2006)
Radios: | 45.05 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 647 (2006)
Televisions: | 18.05 million (1997)
Internet country code: | .ua
Internet hosts: | 234,349 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 260 (2001)
Internet users: | 5.545 million (2006)

Transportation | Ukraine

Airports: | 437 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 193 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 53 1,524 to 2,437 m: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 95 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 244 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 217 (2007)
Heliports: | 10 (2007)
Pipelines: | gas 33,721 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2007)
Railways: | total: 22,473 km broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways: | total: 169,477 km paved: 164,732 km (includes 15 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,745 km (2004)
Waterways: | 2,253 km (most on Dnieper River) (2006)
Merchant marine: | total: 193 ships (1000 GRT or over) 763,293 GRT/899,859 DWT by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 145, container 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2 registered in other countries: 194 (Belize 10, Cambodia 27, Comoros 13, Cyprus 6, Dominica 3, Georgia 24, Liberia 24, Malta 28, Moldova 3, Mongolia 3, Panama 8, Russia 10, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 10, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 12, unknown 3) (2007)
Ports and terminals: | Feodosiya, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Yuzhnyy

Military | Ukraine

Military branches: | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces (2002)
Military service age and obligation: | 18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months for Army and Air Force, 24 months for Navy (2004)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 11,457,562 females age 16-49: 11,767,357 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 7,141,814 females age 16-49: 9,428,876 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | males age 16-49: 288,605 females age 16-49: 276,324 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues | Ukraine

Disputes - international: | 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified due to unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete with preparations for demarcation underway; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and ongoing expert-level discussions; Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region, which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, and Romania until June 2007 to rejoin, in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary; Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea
Illicit drugs: | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to the West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey to Europe and Russia; Ukraine has improved anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in February 2004; Ukraine's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF

This page was last updated on 19 June, 2008