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Introduction | Ukraine

Background:

Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan 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. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity.

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: | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.)
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: | 46,710,816 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 3,377,868/female 3,203,738) 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 15,559,998/female 16,831,486) 65 years and over: 16.6% (male 2,635,651/female 5,102,075) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 39.2 years male: 35.9 years female: 42.2 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | -0.6% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 8.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 69.98 years male: 64.71 years female: 75.59 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.17 children born/woman (2006 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 - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Orthodox (no particular jurisdiction) 16%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38% (2004 est.)
Languages: | Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%; small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.6% (2003 est.)
People - note: | the sex trafficking of Ukrainian women is a serious problem that has only recently been addressed

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: | Kiev (Kyyiv)

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, Kiev (Kyyiv)**, Kyyiv, 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 the Soviet Union)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 24 August (1991); 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
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Yuriy YEKHANUROV (since 22 September 2005); First Deputy Prime Minister - Stanislav STASHEVSKYY (since 27 September 2005)
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; 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 Mr. 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 51.99%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2%

Legislative branch:

unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under recent amendments to Ukraine's election law, the Rada's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; members serve five-year terms beginning with the March 2006 election)
elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held 26 March 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party/bloc in 2002 - Our Ukraine 24%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, other 24%; seats by party/bloc - Regions of Ukraine 61, CPU 56, People's Party 41, Our Ukraine 40, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 35, SPU 29, Lytyvn-led People's Bloc 22, United Social Democratic Party 19, Ukrainian People's Party 18, People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) 16, Vidrodzhennya (Revival) 16, Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 16, Reforms and Order 15, United Ukraine 12, independent/unaffiliated 31, vacant 23 (January 2006)
note: since the "Orange Revolution," many Rada members from single-mandate districts resigned to take up positions in the executive branch and their seats remain vacant

Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders:

Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; Lytyvn-led People's Bloc group [Ihor SHAROV]; Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) [Borys TARASYUK]; People's Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; People's Trust group [Anton KISSE]; 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]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; United Social Democratic Party [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; United Ukraine [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Vidrodzhennya (Revival) [Anton KISSE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]

International organization participation:

Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador John E. HERBST embassy: 10 Yuriia Kotsiubynskoho, 04053 Kiev 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. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas, to meet some 85% of its annual energy requirements. 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. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. A dispute with Russia over pricing led to a temporary gas cut-off; Ukraine concluded a deal with Russia in January 2006, which almost doubled the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas, and could cost the Ukrainian economy $1.4-2.2 billion and cause GDP growth to fall 3-4%. 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 for businesses. Reforms in the more politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatization are still lagging. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. GDP growth was 2.4% in 2005, down from 12.4% in 2004. The current account surplus reached $2.2 billion in 2005. The privatization of the Kryvoryzhstal steelworks in late 2005 produced $4.8 billion in windfall revenue for the government. Some of the proceeds were used to finance the budget deficit, some to recapitalize two state banks, some to retire public debt, and the rest may be used to finance future deficits.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $319.4 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $77.91 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 2.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $6,800 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 22.5% industry: 33.2% services: 44.3% (2005 est.)
Labor force: | 22.67 (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996)
Unemployment rate: | 2.9% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is around 9-10% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 29% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 24.8% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 29 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 10.3% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 17.7% of GDP (January-September 2005)
Budget: | revenues: $23.59 billion expenditures: $22.98 billion; note - this is the consolidated budget (January-September 2005)
Public debt: | 18% of GDP (2005 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: | 3% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production: | 181.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 48.6% hydro: 7.9% nuclear: 43.5% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 176 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports: | 1 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports: | 255 million kWh (2004)
Oil - production: | 85,660 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - consumption: | 491,700 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves: | 395 million bbl (9 November 2004)
Natural gas - production: | 20.3 billion cu m (2004)
Natural gas - consumption: | 75.8 billion cu m (2004)
Natural gas - exports: | 3.9 billion cu m (2004)
Natural gas - imports: | 59.8 billion cu m (2004)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.121 trillion cu m (9 November 2004)
Current account balance: | $2.24 billion (2005)
Exports: | $38.22 billion (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners: | Russia 18%, Germany 5.8%, Turkey 5.7%, Italy 5%, US 4.6% (2004)
Imports: | $37.18 billion (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners: | Russia 41.8%, Germany 9.6%, Turkmenistan 6.7% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $19.39 billion (2005)
Debt - external: | $33.93 billion (30 June 2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)
Currency (code): | hryvnia (UAH)
Currency code: | UAH
Exchange rates: | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004), 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Ukraine

Telephones - main lines in use: | 12.142 million (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 13.735 million (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan, running through 2005, 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 slowly and the domestic trunk system is being improved; the mobile cellular telephone system is expanding at a high rate
international: country code - 380; two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three 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 earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: | 45.05 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Televisions: | 18.05 million (1997)
Internet country code: | .ua
Internet hosts: | 167,501 (2005)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 260 (2001)
Internet users: | 5,278,100 (2005)

Transportation | Ukraine

Airports: | 537 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 199 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 57 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 94 (2005)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 338 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 298 (2005)
Heliports: | 10 (2005)
Pipelines: | gas 20,069 km; oil 4,540 km; refined products 4,169 km (2004)
Railways: | total: 22,473 km broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2004)
Roadways: | total: 169,739 km paved: 164,630 km (including 15 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,109 km (2003)
Waterways: | 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 204 ships (1000 GRT or over) 780,262 GRT/911,489 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 153, container 4, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2
registered in other countries: 142 (Belize 3, Cambodia 12, Comoros 12, Cyprus 3, Georgia 23, North Korea 1, Liberia 15, Malta 26, Moldova 3, Mongolia 1, Panama 7, Russia 9, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13, Sierra Leone 1, Slovakia 8, unknown 4) (2005)

Ports and terminals: | Feodosiya, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Yuzhnyy

Military | Ukraine

Military branches: | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces (2002)
Military service age and obligation: | 18-27 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 18-49: 11,067,239 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 7,114,337 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males: 378,176 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $617.9 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.4% (FY02)

Transnational Issues | Ukraine

Disputes - international:

1997 boundary 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 and parties have renewed discussions on demarcation; the dispute over the maritime 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 have established joint customs posts to monitor transit through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region, which remains under OSCE supervision; in 2004 Ukraine and Romania took their dispute over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; 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 29 March, 2006