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Location: Eastern Europe,
bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 49
00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth
of Independent States
Area:
total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly
smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 4,558 km
border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland
428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km,
Slovakia 90 km
Coastline: 2,782 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Land use:
arable land: 58%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 18%
other: 9% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 26,050 sq km
(1993 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-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography—note: strategic
position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in
Europe
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Population: 49,811,174 (July
1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 4,690,318; female 4,498,239)
15-64 years: 68% (male 16,136,296; female 17,572,011)
65 years and over: 14% (male 2,251,664; female 4,662,646) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.62% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 9.54
births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 16.38
deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.63
migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 21.73
deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.91 years
male: 60.23 years
female: 71.87 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.34
children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian
Ethnic groups: Ukrainian
73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%, other 4%
Religions: Ukrainian
Orthodox—Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox—Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian
Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish
Languages: Ukrainian,
Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 100%
female: 97% (1989 est.)
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Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ukraine
local long form: none
local short form: Ukrayina
former: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: UP
Government type: republic
Capital: Kiev (Kyyiv)
Administrative divisions: 24
oblasti (singular—oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and
2 municipalities (mista, singular—misto) with oblast status**; Cherkas'ka
(Cherkasy), Chernihivs'ka (Chernihiv), Chernivets'ka (Chernivtsi),
Dnipropetrovs'ka (Dnipropetrovs'k), Donets'ka (Donets'k), Ivano-Frankivs'ka
(Ivano-Frankivs'k), Kharkivs'ka (Kharkiv), Khersons'ka (Kherson), Khmel'nyts'ka
(Khmel'nyts'kyy), Kirovohrads'ka (Kirovohrad), Kyyiv**, Kyyivs'ka (Kiev),
Luhans'ka (Luhans'k), L'vivs'ka (L'viv), Mykolayivs'ka (Mykolayiv), Odes'ka
(Odesa), Poltavs'ka (Poltava), Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'),
Rivnens'ka (Rivne), Sevastopol'**, Sums'ka (Sumy), Ternopil's'ka (Ternopil'),
Vinnyts'ka (Vinnytsya), Volyns'ka (Luts'k), Zakarpats'ka (Uzhhorod), Zaporiz'ka
(Zaporizhzhya), Zhytomyrs'ka (Zhytomyr)
note: oblasts have the administrative center name following in
parentheses
Independence: 1 December
1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 August (1991)
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 Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO (since 16 July
1997), First Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr KURATCHENKO (since 14 January
1999), and three deputy prime ministers
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by
the Supreme Council
note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally
created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped
and strengthened under President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with
developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and
advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft
presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council
of Regions that serves as an advisory body created by President KUCHMA in
September 1994 that includes chairmen of the Kyyiv (Kiev) and Sevastopol'
municipalities and chairmen of the Oblasti
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 26 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA October 1999);
prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and
approved by the People's Council
election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of
vote—Leonid KUCHMA 52.15%, Leonid KRAVCHUK 45.06%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine's new
election law, half of the Rada's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to
those parties that gain 4% of the national electoral vote; the other 225
members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies; all serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002);
note—repeat elections continuing to fill vacant seats
election results: percent of vote by party (for parties clearing 4%
hurdle on 29 March 1998)—Communist 24.7%, Rukh 9.4%, Socialist/Peasant 8.6%,
Green 5.3%, People's Democratic Party 5.0%, Hromada 4.7%, Progressive Socialist
4.0%, United Social Democratic Party 4.0%; seats by party (as of 8 July
1998)—Communist 120, People's Democratic Party 88, Rukh 47, Hromada 45,
Socialist/Peasant 33, United Social Democratic 25, Green 24, Progressive
Socialist 14, independents 26, vacant 28
Judicial branch: Supreme
Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Ukraine [Petro SYMONENKO]; Hromad [Pavlo LAZARENKO];
Ukrainian Popular Movement or Rukh [Vyacheslav CHORNOVIL, chairman]; Socialist
Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Peasant Party of Ukraine
or SelPU [Serhiy DOVAN]; People's Democratic Party or NDPU [Anatoliy
MATVIYENKO, chairman]; Reforms and Order Party [Viktor PYNZENYK]; United Social
Democratic Party of Ukraine [Vasyl ONOPENKO]; Agrarian Party of Ukraine or APU
[Kateryna VASHCHUK]; Liberal Party of Ukraine or LPU [Volodymyr SHCHERBAN];
Green Party of Ukraine or PZU [Vitaliy KONONOV, leader]; Progressive Socialist
Party [Natalya VITRENKO]
note: and numerous smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: New Ukraine (Nova Ukrayina); Congress of National Democratic Forces
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat
(nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP,
UNMOT, UNPREDEP, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Anton Denysovych BUTEYKO
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817
consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Steven Karl PIFER
embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsubynskoho, 254053 Kiev 53
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [380] (44) 246-9750
FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350
Flag description: two equal
horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a
blue sky
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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 equipment and raw materials to
industrial and mining sites in other regions of the former USSR. Ukraine
depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas. Shortly after the
implosion of the USSR 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 in 1992-98 fell to less
than half the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary
levels in late 1993. Since his election in July 1994, President KUCHMA has
pushed economic reforms, maintained financial discipline, and tried to remove
almost all remaining controls over prices and foreign trade. The onset of the
financial crisis in Russia dashed Ukraine's hopes for its first year of
economic growth in 1998 due to a sharp fall in export revenue and reduced
domestic demand. Although administrative currency controls will be lifted in
early 1999, they are likely to be reimposed when the hryvnia next comes under
pressure. The currency is only likely to collapse further if Ukraine abandons
tight monetary policies or threatens default. Despite increasing pressure from
the IMF to accelerate reform, significant economic restructuring remains
unlikely in 1999.
GDP: purchasing power
parity—$108.5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: -1.7%
(1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing
power parity—$2,200 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 14%
industry: 30%
services: 56% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 20.8% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (yearend 1998 est.)
Labor force: 22.8 million
(yearend 1997)
Labor force—by occupation:
industry and construction 32%, agriculture and forestry 24%, health, education,
and culture 17%, trade and distribution 8%, transport and communication 7%,
other 12% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 3.7%
officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers
(December 1998)
Budget:
revenues: $18 billion
expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997
est.)
Industries: coal, electric
power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment,
chemicals, food-processing (especially sugar)
Industrial production growth rate: -1.5% (1998 est.)
Electricity—production:
171.8 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 47%
hydro: 9.2%
nuclear: 43.8%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity—consumption: 174
billion kWh (1998)
Electricity—exports: 5
billion kWh (1998)
Electricity—imports: 7
billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture—products: grain,
sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Exports: $11.3 billion (1998
est.)
Exports—commodities: ferrous
and nonferrous metals, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food
products
Exports—partners: Russia,
China,, Turkey, Germany, Belarus (1998)
Imports: $13.1 billion (1998
est.)
Imports—commodities: energy,
machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals, plastics and rubber
Imports—partners: Russia,
Germany, US, Poland, Italy (1998)
Debt—external: $10.9 billion
(October 1998)
Economic aid—recipient:
$637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)
Currency: 1 hryvna=100
kopiykas
Exchange rates: hryvnia per
US$1—3.4270 (February 1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997), 1.8295 (1996),
1.4731 (1995), 0.3275 (1994)
note: in August 1998, Ukraine introduced currency controls in an attempt
to fend off the impact of the Russian financial crisis; it created an exchange
rate corridor for the hryvnia of 2.5-3.5 hryvnia per US$1
Fiscal year: calendar year
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Telephones: 12,531,277
(1998)
Telephone system: Ukraine's
phone systems are administered through the State Committee for Communications;
Ukraine has a telecommunication development plan through 2005; Internet service
is available in large cities
domestic: local—Kiev has a digital loop connected to the national
digital backbone; Kiev has several cellular phone companies providing service
in the different standards; some companies offer intercity roaming and even
limited international roaming; cellular phone service is offered in at least
100 cities nationwide
international: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures
greatly improved the Ukrainian telephone system; Ukraine's two main fiber-optic
lines are part of the Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE); these lines
connect Ukraine to worldwide service through Belarus, Hungary, and Poland;
Odesa is a landing point for the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia Undersea
Fiber-Optic Cable (ITUR) giving Ukraine an additional fiber-optic link to
worldwide service; Ukraine has Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik earth
stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM
NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note—at least 25 local broadcast stations of NA type
(1998)
Radios: 15 million (1990)
Television broadcast stations: at least 33 (in addition 21 repeater stations that relay ORT
broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Televisions: 17.3 million
(1992)
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Railways:
total: 23,350 km
broad gauge: 23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified)
Highways:
total: 172,565 km
paved: 163,937 km (including 1,875 km of expressways); note—these roads
are said to be hard-surfaced, meaning that some are paved and some are all-weather
gravel surfaced
unpaved: 8,628 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 4,400 km
navigable waterways, of which 1,672 km were on the Pryp''yat' and Dnistr (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 4,000
km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998)
Ports and harbors:
Berdyans'k, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Mariupol',
Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni
Merchant marine:
total: 181 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,022,047 GRT/1,101,278
DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 117, liquefied gas tanker 1, container 4,
multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 16, passenger 12,
passenger-cargo 3, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 10, short-sea passenger 3 (1998 est.)
Airports: 706 (1994 est.)
Airports—with paved runways:
total: 163
over 3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 55
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 57 (1994 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 543
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 37
under 914 m: 476 (1994 est.)
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Military branches: Army,
Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Internal Troops, National Guard, Border
Troops
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 12,434,486 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 9,740,684 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 365,762 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $414 million (1999)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.4% (1999)
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Disputes—international:
dispute with Romania over continental shelf of the Black Sea under which
significant gas and oil deposits may exist; agreed in 1997 to two-year
negotiating period, after which either party can refer dispute to the
International Court of Justice (ICJ); has made no territorial claim in
Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the
claims of any other nation
Illicit drugs: limited
cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some
synthetic drug production for export to West; limited government eradication
program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from
Africa, Latin America, and Turkey, and to Europe and Russia; drug-related money
laundering a minor, but growing, problem
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