1.
[syn: Ukraine, Ukrayina]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Ukraine
n 1: a republic in southeastern Europe; formerly a European
soviet; the center of the original Russian state which came
into existence in the ninth century [syn: Ukraine,
Ukrayina]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Ukraine
Introduction Ukraine
--------------------
Background: Richly endowed in natural resources,
Ukraine has been fought over and
subjugated for centuries; its 20th-
century struggle for liberty is not
yet complete. A short-lived
independence from Russia (1917-1920)
was followed by brutal Soviet rule
that engineered two artificial
famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in
which over 8 million died, and World
War II, in which German and Soviet
armies were responsible for some 7
million more deaths. Although
independence was attained in 1991
with the dissolution of the USSR,
true freedom remains elusive as many
of the former Soviet elite remain
entrenched, stalling efforts at
economic reform, privatization, and
civil liberties.
Geography Ukraine
-----------------
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black
Sea, between Poland and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: Asia, Europe
Area: total: 603,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
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
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, arable land
Land use: arable land: 57.1%
permanent crops: 1.73%
other: 41.17% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 24,540 sq km (1998 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 party to: Air Pollution, Air
agreements: Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-
Marine Living Resources, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, 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-Sulphur
94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol
Geography - note: strategic position at the crossroads
between Europe and Asia; second-
largest country in Europe
People Ukraine
--------------
Population: 48,396,470 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.8% (male 4,147,344;
female 3,970,343)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,881,821;
female 17,366,172)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male
2,341,885; female 4,688,905) (2002
est.)
Population growth rate: -0.72% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 9.59 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 16.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 21.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.33 years
female: 72.06 years (2002 est.)
male: 60.86 years
Total fertility rate: 1.32 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.96% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 240,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,000 (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 Ukraine
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ukraine
local long form: none
former: Ukrainian National Republic,
Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic
local short form: Ukrayina
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 - when
using a place name with an
adjectival ending 's'ka' or 'z'ka,'
the word Oblast' should be added to
the place name
note: oblasts have the
administrative center name following
in parentheses
Independence: 24 August 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
Anatoliy KINAKH (since 29 May 2001),
First Deputy Prime Minister Oleh
DUBYNA (since 29 May 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
appointed by the president and
approved by the Supreme Council
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 31 October and 14
November 1999 (next to be held NA
2004); prime minister and deputy
prime ministers appointed by the
president and approved by the
Supreme Council
election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA
elected president; percent of vote -
Leonid KUCHMA 57.7%, Petro SYMONENKO
38.8%
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
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council or
Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under
Ukraine's new election law, 225 of
the Supreme Council's seats are
allocated on a proportional basis to
those parties that gain 4% or more
of the national electoral vote; the
other 225 members are elected by
popular vote in single-mandate
constituencies; all serve four-year
terms)
election results: percent of vote by
party - Our Ukraine 24%, For One
Ukraine 12%, CPU 20%, Social-
Democratic Party of Ukraine 6%, SPU
7%, Juliya Tymochenko Election Bloc
7%, other 24%; seats by party - Our
Ukraine 112, For One Ukraine 101,
CPU 67, Social-Democratic Party of
Ukraine 24, SPU 23, Juliya
Tymochenko Election Bloc 21,
Democratic Party of Ukraine 4, Unity
3, others 95
elections: last held 31 March 2002
(next to be held NA 2006)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party [Mykhaylo HLADIY];
Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU
[Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Union
[Oleksandr OMELCHENKO]; Fatherland
(Motherland) All Ukrainian Party
[Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, chairperson];
For One Ukraine [leader NA]; Green
Party of Ukraine or PZU [Vitaliy
KONONOV, chairman]; Juliya
Tymochenko Election Bloc [leader
NA]; Liberal Party [Volodymyr
SHCHERBAN]; Our Ukraine [leader NA];
Party of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH];
Party of Regions [Volodymyr
SEMYNOZHENKO]; Party of Ukrainian
Unity [Ivan BILAS]; Peasant Party of
Ukraine or SelPU [Serhiy DOVHAN];
People's Democratic Party or PDP
[Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman];
People's Movement of Ukraine or Rukh
U [Hennadiy UDOVENKO, chairman];
Progressive Socialist Party
[Nataliya VITRENKO]; Reforms
Congress [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Social-
Democratic Party of Ukraine (United)
[Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; Socialist Party
of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ,
chairman]; Solidarity [Petro
POROSHENKO]; Trudova Ukrayina/
Working Ukraine [Viktor PINCHUK,
chairman]; Ukrainian Popular
Movement or Rukh K [Yuriy KOSTENKO,
chairman]; Unity [Oleksandr
OMELCHENKO]; Working Ukraine/Labort
Ukraine [Serhiy TYHYPKO]; Yabluko
[BRODSKY]
note: and numerous smaller parties
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD,
participation: ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM
(observer), NSG, OAS (observer),
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT,
UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Konstantin Ivanovych HRYSHCHENKO
FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817
consulate(s) general: Chicago and
New York
telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
chancery: 3350 M Street NW,
Washington, DC 20007
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos
US: PASCUAL
embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynskyi
Street, Kiev 01901
mailing address: use embassy street
address
telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000
FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of azure
(top) and golden yellow represent
grainfields under a blue sky
Economy Ukraine
---------------
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 in late 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% 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. Now
in his second term, President KUCHMA
has pledged to reduce the number of
government agencies, streamline the
regulatory process, create a legal
environment to encourage
entrepreneurs, and enact a
comprehensive tax overhaul. 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 and have threatened to
withdraw financial support. GDP in
2000 showed strong export-based
growth of 6% - the first growth
since independence - and industrial
production grew 12.9%. The economy
continued to expand in 2001 as real
GDP rose 9% and industrial output
grew by over 14%. Growth was
undergirded by strong domestic
demand and growing consumer and
investor confidence.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $205
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 9% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,200
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 13%
industry: 40%
services: 47% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 29% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 3.7%
percentage share: highest 10%: 23.2% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini 30 (1999)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 22.8 million (yearend 1997)
Labor force - by occupation: industry 32%, agriculture 24%,
services 44% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 3.6% officially registered; large
number of unregistered or
underemployed workers (November
2001)
Budget: revenues: $10.2 billion
expenditures: $11.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (2002 est.)
Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and
nonferrous metals, machinery and
transport equipment, chemicals, food
processing (especially sugar)
Industrial production growth rate: 14.2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 163.57 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 49.54%
hydro: 7.02%
other: 0.01% (2000)
nuclear: 43.44%
Electricity - consumption: 151.72 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 400 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds,
vegetables; beef, milk
Exports: $17.3 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel
and petroleum products, machinery
and transport equipment, food
products
Exports - partners: Russia 22.6%, Turkey 6.2%, Italy
5.1%, Germany (2001 est.)
Imports: $17.1 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: energy, machinery and parts,
transportation equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners: Russia 36.9%, Turkmenistan 10.5%,
Germany 8.7%, US (2001 est.)
Debt - external: $11.8 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended
Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)
Currency: hryvnia (UAH)
Currency code: UAH
Exchange rates: hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3126
(January 2002), 5.3722 (2001),
5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999), 2.4495
(1998), 1.8617 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Ukraine
----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 9.45 million (April 1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 236,000 (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 now rising slowly and the
domestic trunk system is being
improved; the mobile cellular
telephone system is expanding at a
high rate
international: 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 which
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 broadcast stations: AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 45.05 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that
relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Televisions: 18.05 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ua
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 260 (2001)
Internet users: 750,000 (2001)
Transportation Ukraine
----------------------
Railways: total: 22,510 km
broad gauge: 21,951 km 1.524-m gauge
(8,927 km electrified)
standard gauge: 49 km 1.435-m gauge
note: these data do not include
railroads dedicated to serving
industry and not in common carrier
service (2001)
narrow gauge: 510 km 0.750-m gauge
Highways: total: 273,700 km
paved: 236,400 km (including 1,770
km of expressways and a substantial
amount of all-weather roads with
gravel surfaces)
unpaved: 37,300 km (these roads are
made of unstabilized earth and are
difficult to negotiate in wet
weather) (1990)
Waterways: 4,499 km
note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat'
and Dniester (Dnister) (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, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k,
Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev
(Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol',
Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol',
Yalta, Yuzhnyy
Merchant marine: total: 138 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 669,303 GRT/707,857 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 100,
container 3, liquefied gas 2,
passenger 11, passenger/cargo 1,
petroleum tanker 12, railcar carrier
2
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Cyprus 1, Greece 1,
Panama 1, Russia 4, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 718 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 114
over 3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 50
1,524 to 2,437 m: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 26 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 604
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 52
914 to 1,523 m: 45
under 914 m: 457 (2001)
Military Ukraine
----------------
Military branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air
Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior
Troops, Border Troops
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 12,263,178 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 9,616,864 (2002
service: est.)
Military manpower - reaching military males: 390,823 (2002 est.)
age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $500 million (FY99)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 1.4% (FY99)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Ukraine
----------------------------
Disputes - international: Ukraine and Romania have yet to
resolve claims over Ukrainian-
administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island
and delimitation of Black Sea
maritime boundary, despite 1997
bilateral treaty to find a solution
in two years and numerous talks;
Russia and Ukraine have successfully
delimited land boundary in 2001, but
disagree on delimitation of maritime
boundary in the Sea of Azov and
Black Sea; Moldovan difficulties
with break-away Transnistria region
inhibit establishment of a joint
customs regime with Ukraine to
curtail smuggling, arms transfers,
and other illegal activities
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