Ukraine

Internet country code

.ua

Internet hosts

229,110 (2006)

Internet users

5,278,100 (2005)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)

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; 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

Telephones - main lines in use

12.142 million (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular

17.214 million (2005)

Television broadcast stations

at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)

Agriculture - products

grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk

Budget

revenues: $23.59 billion expenditures: $22.98 billion; note - this is the consolidated budget (January-September 2005)

Currency (code)

hryvnia (UAH)

Current account balance

$2.531 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external

$23.93 billion (2005 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

29 (1999)

Economic aid - recipient

$637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)

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 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.

Electricity - consumption

176 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports

1 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports

255 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - production

181.3 billion kWh (2004)

Exchange rates

hryvnia per US dollar - 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004), 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001)

Exports

$38.22 billion (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities

ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products

Exports - partners

Russia 22.1%, Turkey 6%, Italy 5.6% (2005)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$75.14 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$329.1 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 18.7% industry: 45.2% services: 36.1% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$7,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.6% (2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 24.8% (2005)

Imports

$37.18 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities

energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners

Russia 35.5%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.4%, China 5% (2005)

Industrial production growth rate

3.2% (2005 est.)

Industries

coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

13.5% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

20.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Labor force

22.67 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 24% industry: 32% services: 44% (1996)

Natural gas - consumption

75.8 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - exports

3.9 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - imports

59.8 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - production

20.3 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - proved reserves

1.121 trillion cu m (9 November 2004)

Oil - consumption

491,700 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports

8,891 bbl/day NA bbl/day

Oil - imports

444,600 bbl/day NA bbl/day

Oil - production

85,660 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves

395 million bbl (9 November 2004)

Population below poverty line

29% (2003 est.)

Public debt

17% of GDP (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$19.39 billion (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate

3.1% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is around 9-10% (2005 est.)

Area

total: 603,700 sq km land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Texas

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

Coastline

2,782 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m

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-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

Geographic coordinates

49 00 N, 32 00 E

Geography - note

strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe

Irrigated land

22,080 sq km (2003)

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

Land use

arable land: 53.8% permanent crops: 1.5% other: 44.7% (2005)

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east

Map references

Asia, Europe

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land

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

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)

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

Constitution

adopted 28 June 1996

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador William B. TAYLOR embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street, 04053 Kyiv mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850 telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Oleh V. SHAMSHUR chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco

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 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%

Flag description

two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky

Government type

republic

Independence

24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

International organization participation

Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (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

Judicial branch

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Legal system

based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

Legislative branch

unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 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

National holiday

Independence Day, 24 August (1991); 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

Political parties and leaders

Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; 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 pressure groups and leaders

Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Background

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.

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 branches

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.4% (FY02)

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)

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.)

Birth rate

8.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

1.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

20,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

360,000 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Languages

Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.98 years male: 64.71 years female: 75.59 years (2006 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.6% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 39.2 years male: 35.9 years female: 42.2 years (2006 est.)

Nationality

noun: Ukrainian(s) adjective: Ukrainian

Net migration rate

-0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Population

46,710,816 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.6% (2006 est.)

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.)

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.)

Total fertility rate

1.17 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Disputes - international

1997 boundary 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 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

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)

Merchant marine

total: 202 ships (1000 GRT or over) 782,456 GRT/911,201 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)

Pipelines

gas 19,951 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2006)

Ports and terminals

Feodosiya, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Yuzhnyy

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)