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| Ukraine
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Ukraine
|Geography
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[Top of Page]
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
|People
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[Top of Page]
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.)
|Government
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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
|Economy
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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.)
Population below poverty line: 50% (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
|Communications
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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)
|Transportation
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[Top of Page]
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.)
|Military
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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)
|Transnational Issues
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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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