Ukraine

Ukraine 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 4,558 km, Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (southwest) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km

Coastline

2,782 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940; potential dispute with Russia over Crimea; 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

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 plateaux, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

26,000 sq km (1990)

Environment

Note: Strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second largest country in Europe

PEOPLE

Population

50,864,009 (July 1996 est.)
51,867,828 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

20% (male 5,139,034; female 4,936,901)
21% (male 5,407,450; female 5,217,850)

15-64 Years

66% (male 16,135,671; female 17,433,600)
65% (male 16,334,299; female 17,563,924)

65 Years and Over

14% (male 2,318,629; female 4,900,174) (July 1996 est.)
14% (male 2,367,412; female 4,976,893) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

-0.4% (1996 est.)
0.04% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

11.17 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.31 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

15.16 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.67 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.86 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
20.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.6 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.81 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1989)

Labor Force

23.55 million (January 1994)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

UP

Type

Republic

Capital

Kiev (Kyyiv)

Administrative Divisions

24 oblasti (singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalites (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), Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Rivnens'ka (Rivne), Sevastopol'**, Sums'ka (Sevastopol'), Ternopil's'ka (Ternopil'), Vinnyts'ka (Vinnytsya), Volyns'ka (Luts'k), Zakarpats'ka (Uzhhorod), Zaporiz'ka (Zaporizhzhya), Zhytomyrs'ka (Zhytomyr)

Note: Names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from oblast' name

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; no judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

National Security Council

Originally created in 1992, but signficantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA; members include the president, prime minister, Ministers of Finance, Environment, Justice, Internal Affairs, Foreign Economic Relations, Economic and Foreign Affairs; the NSC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president

Presidential Administration

Helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president

Council of Regions

Advisory body created by President KUCHMA in September 1994; includes the Chairmen of Oblast and Kiev and Sevastopol City Supreme Councils

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Supreme Council

Elections last held 27 March 1994 with repeat elections continuing through December 1998 to fill empty seats (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (450 total) Communists 91, Rukh 22, Agrarians 18, Socialists 15, Republicans 11, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 5, Labor 5, Party of Democratic Revival 4, Democrats 2, Social Democrats 2, Civil Congress 2, Conservative Republicans 1, Party of Economic Revival of Crimea 1, Christian Democrats 1, independents 225; note - most recent repeat election held in April 1996 filling 422 of 450 seats as follows: independents 238, Communist 95, Rukh 22, Agrarians 18, Socialist 15, Republicans 11, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 5, Labor 5, Party of Democratic Revival 4, Democratic Party of Ukraine 2, Social Democrats 2, Civil Congress 2, Conservative Republicans 1, Party of Economic Rivival of Crimea 1, Christian Democrats 1, vacant 28

Judicial Branch

Joint commission formed in April 1995 to define a program of judicial reform by year-end

Political Parties and Leaders

Green Party of Ukraine, Vitaliy KONONOV, leader; Liberal Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr SHCHERBAN; Liberal Democratic Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr KLYMCHUK, chairman; Democratic Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych YAVORIVSKIY, chairman; People's Party of Ukraine; Peasants' Party of Ukraine; Party of Democratic Rebirth (Revival) of Ukraine, Volodymyr FILENKO, chairman; Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, Vasyl ONOPENKO, chairman; Socialist Party of Ukraine, Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman; Ukrainian Christian Democratic Party, Vitaliy ZHURAVSKYY, chairman; Ukrainian Conservative Republican Party, Stepan KHMARA, chairman; Ukrainian Labor Party, Valentyn LANDYK, chairman; Ukrainian Party of Justice, Yuriy ZUBKO, chairman; Ukrainian Peasants' Democratic Party, Serhiy PLACHINDA, chairman; Ukrainian Republican Party, Bondan YAROSHPSKYY, chairman; Ukrainian National Conservative Party; Ukrainian People's Movement for Restructuring (Rukh), Vyacheslav CHORNOVIL, chairman; Ukrainian Communist Party, Petr SYMONENKO; Agrarian Party; Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, Slava STESTKO; Civil Congress, O. BAZYLUK; Party of Economic Revival of Crimea; Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Nataliya VITRENKO and Volodymyr MARCHENKO, leaders; People's Democratic Party, Anatoliy MATVIYENKO, chairman

Other Political or Pressure Groups

New Ukraine (Nova Ukrayina); Congress of National Democratic Forces

Member of

BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOT, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Anthem

Flag

Two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky

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. In early 1992, 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. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Since his election in July 1994, President KUCHMA has developed a comprehensive economic reform program, maintained financial discipline, and removed almost all controls over prices and foreign trade. Implementation of KUCHMA's economic agenda is encountering considerable resistance from parliament, entrenched bureaucrats, and industrial interests. However, should KUCHMA succeed in implementing aggressive market reforms during 1996, the economy may stabilize and possibly achieve real growth in the range of 0.5%-1%.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $174.6 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
$189.2 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National Product Real Growth Rate

-4% (1995 est.)
-19% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$3,370 (1995 est.)
$3,650 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

9% monthly average (1995)
14% per month (1994)

Unemployment Rate

0.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (December 1995)
0.4% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers

Budget

Exports

$11.3 billion (1995)
$11.8 billion (1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$10.7 billion (1995)
$14.2 billion (1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$8.8 billion (including $4.5 billion to Russia) (late 1995 est.)
$7.5 billion (yearend 1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate -11% (1995 est.), -28% (1994 est.); accounts for 50% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for about 25% of GDP; grain, vegetables, meat, milk, sugar beets

Illicit Drugs

Illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Economic Aid

$550 million economic aid and $350 million to help disassemble the atomic weapons from the U.S. in 1994, ODA, $220 million (1993)

Currency

On 2 September 1996, Ukraine introduced the long-awaited hryvnia (plural hryvni) as its national currency, replacing the karbovanets (in circulation since 12 November 1992) at a rate of 100,000 karbovantsi to 1 hryvnia

Exchange Rates

hryvnia per US$1 - 1.76 (2 September 1996)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

4,400 km navigable waterways, of which 1,672 km were on the Pryp''yat' and Dnipro (1990)

Pipelines

Crude oil 2,010 km; petroleum products 1,920 km; natural gas 7,800 km (1992)

Ports

Berdyans'k, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Pivdenne, Reni

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

system is unsatisfactory both for business and for personal use; 3.56 million applications for telephones had not been satisfied as of January 1991; electronic mail services have been established in Kiev, Odessa, and Luhans'k by Sprint

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Internal Troops, National Guard, Border Troops

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 12,388,788; males fit for military service 9,716,127; males reach military age (18) annually 362,000 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

1.35 billion hryvni, less than 2% of GDP (Ukrainian Government's forecast for 1996)
544.3 billion karbovantsi, less than 4% of GDP (forecast for 1993); note - conversion of defense expenditures into U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

History
World Atlas