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.
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)
Natural hazards
NA
Environment - current issues
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
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)
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 the 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 Viktor YANUKOVYCH (since 4 August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister - Mykola AZAROV (since 5 August 2006)
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 51.99%, 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 26 March 2006 (next to be held 30 September 2007); note - pre-term parliamentary elections were scheduled following a political crisis during which the Verkhovna Rada was dissolved by the president
election results: percent of vote by party/bloc in 2002 - Party of Regions 32.1%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 22.3%, Our Ukraine 13.9%, SPU 5.7%, CPU 3.7%, other parties 22.3%; seats by party/bloc - Party of Regions 186, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 129, Our Ukraine 81, SPU 33, CPU 21
Judicial branch
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders
Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; People's Party Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; 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]; Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o) [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; Viche [Inna BOHUSLOVSKA]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]; Peoples' Self-Defense [Yuriy LUTSENKO]; Ne Tak [Leonid KRAVCHUK]
two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$364.3 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$82.36 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
7.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$7,800 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
17.5%
industry
42.7%
services
39.8% (2006 est.)
Labor force
22.3 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
25%
industry
20%
services
55% (1996)
Unemployment rate
2.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is 6.7% (2006)
Population below poverty line
29% (2003 est.)
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)
11.6% (2006)
Investment (gross fixed)
22.9% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$33.41 billion
expenditures
$35.6 billion; note - this is the planned, consolidated budget (2006 est.)
Public debt
12.7% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Industrial production growth rate
6.3% (2006 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
10.44 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports
20 billion kWh (2006)
Oil - production
90,400 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - consumption
284,600 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - exports
17,880 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - imports
213,000 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves
395 million bbl (9 November 2004)
Natural gas - production
20.85 billion cu m (2006)
Natural gas - consumption
73.94 billion cu m (2006 est,)
Natural gas - exports
4 billion cu m (2006)
Natural gas - imports
57.09 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
1.121 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance
-$1.933 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$38.88 billion (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners
Russia 21.2%, Turkey 6.9%, Italy 6.3%, US 4% (2006)
Imports
$44.11 billion (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners
Russia 28.4%, Germany 11.7%, Poland 7.6%, China 7.1%, Turkmenistan 5.7% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$22.26 billion (2006)
Debt - external
$48.87 billion (30 October 2006)
Economic aid - recipient
$463 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (2005)
Currency (code)
hryvnia (UAH)
Currency code
UAH
Exchange rates
hryvnia per US dollar - 5.05 (2006), 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004), 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
12.142 million (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular
17.214 million (2005)
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; 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 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
229,110 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
260 (2001)
Internet users
5.278 million (2005)
Airports
499 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
193
over 3,047 m
13
2,438 to 3,047 m
55
1,524 to 2,437 m
27
914 to 1,523 m
5
under 914 m
93 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
306
2,438 to 3,047 m
3
1,524 to 2,437 m
11
914 to 1,523 m
18
under 914 m
274 (2006)
Heliports
10 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 19,951 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2006)
Railways
total
22,473 km
broad gauge
22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2005)
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
202 ships (1000 GRT or over) 782,456 GRT/911,201 DWT
160 (Belize 7, Cambodia 17, Comoros 14, Cyprus 4, Dominica 2, Georgia 22, Liberia 16, Malta 24, Moldova 3, Mongolia 1, Panama 8, Russia 11, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12, Sierra Leone 4, Slovakia 8, unknown 4) (2006)
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 18-49
11,020,222
females age 18-49
11,370,687 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
7,376,050
females age 18-49
9,313,385 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
382,751
females age 18-49
365,599 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.4% (2005 est.)
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
