from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Ukraine
Introduction
Background: Ukraine was the center of the first 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.
Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between
Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in
the east
Geographic 49 00 N, 32 00 E
coordinates:
Map Asia, Europe
references:
Area: total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than Texas
comparative:
Land total: 4,663 km
boundaries: 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 territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: 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 lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
extremes: highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Natural iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt,
resources: 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 22,080 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural NA
hazards:
Environment - inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water
current pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in
issues: the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear
Power Plant
Environment - party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
international Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental
agreements: 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 - strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and
note: Asia; second-largest country in Europe
People
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 -0.6% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 8.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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 total: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 11.48 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 8.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 69.98 years
expectancy at male: 64.71 years
birth: female: 75.59 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.17 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 1.4% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 360,000 (2001 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 20,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
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 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.)
Government
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 republic
type:
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 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1
divisions: 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 Independence Day, 24 August (1991); 22 January (1918),
holiday: 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 chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since
branch: 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 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 unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450
branch: seats; allocated on a proportional basis to those
parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral
vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 March 2006 (next to be held
March 2011)
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%; seats by party/
bloc - Party of Regions 186, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc
129, Our Ukraine 81, SPU 33, CPU 21
Judicial Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
branch:
Political Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO];
parties and Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO];
leaders: 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];
Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o) [Viktor
MEDVEDCHUK]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU
[Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Ukrainian People's Party
[Yuriy KOSTENKO]; United Ukraine [Bohdan HUBSKYY];
Vidrodzhennya (Revival) [Anton KISSE]
Political Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CIS,
organization EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
participation: (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA
(observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS
(observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI
(observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL,
UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Oleh V. SHAMSHUR
representation chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
in the US: telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador William B. TAYLOR
representation embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street, 04053 Kyiv
from the US: mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC
20521-5850
telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000
FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085
Flag two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden
description: yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky
Economy
Economy - After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away
overview: 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 $329.1 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $75.14 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 2.6% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $7,000 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 18.7%
composition by industry: 45.2%
sector: services: 36.1% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 22.67 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 24%
by occupation: industry: 32%
services: 44% (1996)
Unemployment 3.1% officially registered; large number of
rate: unregistered or underemployed workers; the
International Labor Organization calculates that
Ukraine's real unemployment level is around 9-10% (2005
est.)
Population 29% (2003 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 3.4%
income or highest 10%: 24.8% (2005)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 29 (1999)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 13.5% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 20.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $23.59 billion
expenditures: $22.98 billion; note - this is the
consolidated budget (January-September 2005)
Public debt: 17% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef,
products: milk
Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals,
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food
processing (especially sugar)
Industrial 3.2% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 181.3 billion kWh (2004)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 48.6%
production by hydro: 7.9%
source: nuclear: 43.5%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 176 billion kWh (2004)
consumption:
Electricity - 1 billion kWh (2004)
exports:
Electricity - 255 million kWh (2004)
imports:
Oil - 85,660 bbl/day (2004)
production:
Oil - 491,700 bbl/day (2004)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 8,891 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: 444,600 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Oil - proved 395 million bbl (9 November 2004)
reserves:
Natural gas - 20.3 billion cu m (2004)
production:
Natural gas - 75.8 billion cu m (2004)
consumption:
Natural gas - 3.9 billion cu m (2004)
exports:
Natural gas - 59.8 billion cu m (2004)
imports:
Natural gas - 1.121 trillion cu m (9 November 2004)
proved
reserves:
Current $2.531 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $38.22 billion (2005 est.)
Exports - ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum
commodities: products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment,
food products
Exports - Russia 22.1%, Turkey 6%, Italy 5.6% (2005)
partners:
Imports: $37.18 billion (2005 est.)
Imports - energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
commodities:
Imports - Russia 35.5%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.4%, China 5%
partners: (2005)
Reserves of $19.39 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $23.93 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2
recipient: billion (1998)
Currency hryvnia (UAH)
(code):
Currency code: UAH
Exchange hryvnia per US dollar - 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004),
rates: 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 12.142 million (2004)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 17.214 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication
system: 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 AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 45.05 million (1997)
Television at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts
broadcast from Russia) (1997)
stations:
Televisions: 18.05 million (1997)
Internet .ua
country code:
Internet 229,110 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 260 (2001)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 5,278,100 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 499 (2006)
Airports - total: 193
with paved over 3,047 m: 13
runways: 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 - total: 306
with unpaved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
runways: 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: 169,447 km
paved: 164,772 km (including 15 km of expressways)
unpaved: 4,675 km (2004)
Waterways: 2,253 km (most on Dnieper River) (2006)
Merchant total: 202 ships (1000 GRT or over) 782,456 GRT/911,201
marine: DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 151, container 4,
passenger 6, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 9,
refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized
tanker 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Russia 1)
registered in other countries: 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)
Ports and Feodosiya, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa,
terminals: Reni, Yuzhnyy
Military
Military Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces
branches: (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces (2002)
Military 18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary
service age military service; conscript service obligation - 18
and months for Army and Air Force, 24 months for Navy
obligation: (2004)
Manpower males age 18-49: 11,020,222
available for females age 18-49: 11,370,687 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 7,376,050
for military females age 18-49: 9,313,385 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 382,751
reaching females age 18-49: 365,599 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $617.9 million (FY02)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 1.4% (FY02)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified
international: 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