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. An early legislative election brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007 saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO as head of an 'Orange' coalition installed as a new prime minister in December 2007.

Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N 32 00 E

Map reference: Asia Europe

Area
Total: 603,700 km²
Land: 603,700 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 4,566 km
Border countries: (7) Belarus 891 km; , Hungary 103 km; , Moldova 940 km; , Poland 428 km; , Romania (south) 176 km; , Romania (southwest) 362 km; , Russia 1,576 km; , Slovakia 90 km

Coastline: 2,782 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation

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
Extremes 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: 53.8%
Permanent crops: 1.5%
Other: 44.7% (2005)

Irrigated land: 22,080 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 139.5 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: NA

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

Population: 45,994,288 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: -0.651% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Ukrainian
Adjective: Ukrainian

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)

Languages: Ukrainian (official) 67% Russian 24% other 9% (includes small Romanian- Polish- and Hungarian-speaking minorities)

Religions: Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4% Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1% Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8% Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2% Roman Catholic 2.2% Protestant 2.2% Jewish 0.6% other 3.2% (2006 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.9% (male 3,277,905/female 3,106,012)
15-64 years: 70% (male 15,443,818/female 16,767,931)
65 years and over: 16.1% (male 2,489,235/female 4,909,386) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 39.4 years
Male: 36.1 years
Female: 42.5 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.651% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 9.55 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 15.93 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.12 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

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
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male/female
65 years and over: 0.51 male/female
Total population: 0.86 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.23 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 11.48 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 6.85 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.06 years
Male: 62.24 years
Female: 74.24 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.4% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 360,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 20,000 (2003 est.)

Education expenditures: 6.3% of GDP (2006)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.4%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 99.2% (2001 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 15 years (2006)

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

Government type: republic

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

Administrative divisions
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day 24 August (1991); note - 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

Constitution: adopted 28 June 1996

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
Head of government: Prime Minister Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (since 18 December 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr TURCHYNOV (since 18 December 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Hryhoriy NEMYRYA and Ivan VASYUNYK (since 18 December 2007)
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 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 52%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 30 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
Election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Party of Regions 34.4%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 30.7%, Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 14.2%, CPU 5.4%, Lytvyn bloc 4%, other parties 11.3%; seats by party/bloc - Party of Regions 175, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 156, Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 72, CPU 27, Lytvyn bloc 20

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union [Volodymyr STRETOVYCH]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; European Party of Ukraine [Mykola KATERYNCHUK]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; Forward Ukraine! [Viktor MUSIYAKA]; Labor Party of Ukraine [Mykola SYROTA]; People's Union Our Ukraine [Vyacheslav KYRYLENKO]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Party of the Defenders of the Fatherland [Yuriy Karmazin]; People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) [Borys TARASYUK]; People's Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; 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]; Sobor [Anatoliy MATVIYENKO]; Social Democratic Party [Yevhen KORNICHUK]; Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o) [Yuriy ZAHORODNIY]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; Viche [Inna BOHOSLOVSKA]

International organization participation: Australia Group BSEC CBSS (observer) CE CEI CIS EAEC (observer) EAPC EBRD FAO GCTU GUAM IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU ITUC LAIA (observer) MIGA MONUC NAM (observer) NSG OAS (observer) OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE PCA PFP SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIL UNMIS UNOMIG UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Oleh V. SHAMSHUR
In the us chancery: 3,350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
In the us fax: [1] (202) 333-0817
In the us consulates general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador William B. TAYLOR Jr.
From the us embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street, 01901 Kyiv
From the us mailing address: 5,850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20,521-5,850
From the us telephone: [380] (44) 490-4,000
From the us fax: [380] (44) 490-4,085

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields 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 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. 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. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Ukraine depends on imports to meet about three-fourths of its annual oil and natural gas requirements. A dispute with Russia over pricing in late 2005 and early 2006 led to a temporary gas cut-off; Ukraine concluded a deal with Russia in January 2006 that almost doubled the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. 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. Ukraine's economy remains buoyant despite political turmoil between the Prime Minister and President. Real GDP growth reached about 7% in 2006-07 fueled by high global prices for steel - Ukraine's top export - and by strong domestic consumption spurred by rising pensions and wages. Although the economy is likely to expand in 2008 long-term growth could be threatened by the government's plans to reinstate tax trade and customs privileges and to maintain restrictive grain export quotas.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $324.8 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 7.7% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $7,000 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9%
Industry: 32.2%
Services: 58.8% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: grain sugar beets sunflower seeds vegetables; beef milk

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 21.58 million (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 25%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation services: 55% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 2.3% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is nearly 7% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.4%
Highest 10: 25.7% (2006)

Distribution of family income gini index: 31 (2006)

Budget
Revenues: $43.54 billion
Expenditures: $45.06 billion; note - this is the planned, consolidated budget (2007 est.)

Public debt: 11.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 12.8% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 8% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 13.9% (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $87.13 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $42.87 billion (2006)

Current account balance: -$5.918 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $49.84 billion (2007 est.)
Commodities: ferrous and nonferrous metals fuel and petroleum products chemicals machinery and transport equipment food products
Partners: Russia 23.3% Turkey 7.9% Italy 5.8% (2007)

Imports: $60.41 billion (2007 est.)
Commodities: energy machinery and equipment chemicals
Partners: Russia 23.9% Germany 11.8% China 8.5% Poland 8.1% Turkmenistan 5.4% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $32.48 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $69.04 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $31.08 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $895 million (2007 est.)

Exchange rates: hryvnia (UAH) per US dollar - 5.05 (2007) 5.05 (2006) 5.1247 (2005) 5.3192 (2004) 5.3327 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 182.4 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 148.1 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 12.52 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Imports: 2.082 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 19.5 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 84.9 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 4 billion m³ (2006 est.)
Imports: 65.4 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.104 trillion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 12.858 million (2007)
Mobile cellular: 55.24 million (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan 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 and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital and a majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations; improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag; the mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding rapidly
International: country code - 380; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and 3 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 an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems

Internet
Country code: .ua
Hosts: 524,202 (2008)
Users: 10 million (2007)

Military expenditures: 1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

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)

Airports: 437 (2007)
With paved runways total: 193
With paved runways over 3047 m: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 53
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 27
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 95 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 244
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 11
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 217 (2007)

Heliports: 10 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 33,721 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 22,473 km
Broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways
Total: 169,422 km
Paved: 165,611 km (includes 15 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 3,811 km (2007)

Waterways: 2,253 km (most on Dnieper River) (2006)

Merchant marine
Total: 189
By type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 141, chemical tanker 1, container 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2
Foreign owned: 2 (Luxembourg 1, Russia 1)
Registered in other countries: 204 (Belize 7, Cambodia 34, Comoros 8, Cyprus 4, Dominica 4, Georgia 18, Liberia 25, Lithuania 1, Malta 30, Moldova 5, Mongolia 1, Panama 10, Russia 11, Saint Kitts and Nevis 9, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11, Sierra Leone 10, Slovakia 12, Tuvalu 1, unknown 3) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Feodosiya Kerch Kherson Mariupol' Mykolayiv Odesa Yuzhnyy

Disputes international: 1997 boundary delimitation 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 with preparations for demarcation underway; the dispute over the 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 operate joint customs posts to monitor transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply and Romania until June 2007 to rejoin in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary; 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