Background: Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which was the largest and most powerful state in Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries. 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. 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, the Russian Empire absorbed most Ukrainian territory. After czarist Russia collapsed in 1917, Ukraine -- which has long been known as the region's 'bread basket' for its agricultural production -- achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but the country was reconquered and endured a Soviet rule that engineered two famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over eight million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for seven to eight million more deaths. In 1986, a sudden power surge during a reactor-systems test at Ukraine's Chernobyl power station triggered the worst nuclear disaster in history, releasing massive amounts of radioactive material. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) dissolved, democracy and prosperity remained elusive, with the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalling efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. In 2004 and 2005, a mass protest dubbed the 'Orange Revolution' forced the authorities to overturn a presidential election and allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH became prime minister in 2006 and was elected president in 2010. In 2012, Ukraine held legislative elections that Western observers widely criticized as corrupt. In 2013, YANUKOVYCH backtracked on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU -- in favor of closer economic ties with Russia -- and then used force against protestors who supported the agreement, leading to a three-month protestor occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in 2014 led to multiple deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. Pro-West President Petro POROSHENKO took office later that year; Volodymyr ZELENSKYY succeeded him in 2019. Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in 2014, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. In response, the UN passed a resolution confirming Ukraine's sovereignty and independence. In mid-2014, Russia began an armed conflict in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces. International efforts to end the conflict failed, and by 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded. On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated the conflict by invading the country on several fronts, in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. Despite Ukrainian resistance, Russia has laid claim to four Ukrainian oblasts -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia -- although none is fully under Russian control. The international community has not recognized the annexations. The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with over six million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally. It remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria). President ZELENSKYY has focused on boosting Ukrainian identity to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war through reclaiming territory and advancing Ukraine’s candidacy for EU membership.

Area
Total: 603,550 km²
Land: 579,330 km²
Water: 24,220 km²
Note: Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, an area of approximately 27,000 km² (10,400 sq miles)
Comparative: almost four times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 5,581 km
Border countries (6): (7) Belarus 1,111 km; Hungary 128 km; Moldova 1,202 km; Poland 498 km; Romania 601 km; Russia 1,944 km; , Slovakia 97 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; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south

Terrain: mostly fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the extreme south of the Crimean Peninsula

Elevation
Highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 175 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 71.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 56.8% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 1.5% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 13% (2023 est.)
Forest: 17.3% (2023 est.)
Other: 10.4% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,000 km² (2022)

Major rivers: Dunay (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Dnipro (Dnieper) river mouth (shared with Russia [s] and Belarus) - 2,287 km; Dnister (Dniester) river source and mouth (shared with Moldova) - 1,411 km; Vistula (shared with Poland [s/m] and Belarus) - 1,213 km
Note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Natural hazards: occasional floods; occasional droughts

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

Population
Total: 35,661,826 (2024 est.)
Male: 17,510,149
Female: 18,151,677
Distribution: densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; notable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa
Distribution note: the ongoing war with Russia has shifted significant portions of the population, particularly in the east
Growth rate: 2.38% (2024 est.)

Languages: Ukrainian (official) 67.5%, Russian (regional language) 29.6%, other (includes Crimean Tatar, Moldovan/Romanian, and Hungarian) 2.9% (2001 est.)
Major-language sample(s): ; Свiтова Книга Фактiв – найкраще джерело базової інформації. (Ukrainian); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Orthodox (includes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), and the Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)), Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish (2013 est.)
Note: Ukraine's population is overwhelmingly Christian; the vast majority - up to two thirds - identify themselves as Orthodox, but many do not specify a particular branch; the OCU and the UOC-MP each represent less than a quarter of the country's population, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church accounts for 8-10%, and the UAOC accounts for 1-2%; Muslim and Jewish adherents each compose less than 1% of the total population

Age structure
0-14 years: 12.3% (male 2,278,116/female 2,122,500)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 12,784,928/female 11,376,460)
65 years and over: 19.9% (2024 est.) (male 2,447,105/female 4,652,717)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 47.6 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 18.2 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 29.4 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 3.4 (2024 est.)
Note: data include Crimea

Median age
Total: 44.9 years (2024 est.)
Male: 41.4 years
Female: 49.2 years

Population growth rate: 2.38% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 18.6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; notable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa
Note: the ongoing war with Russia has shifted significant portions of the population, particularly in the east

Urbanization
Urban population: 70.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: -0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.017 million KYIV (capital), 1.421 million Kharkiv, 1.008 million Odesa, 942,000 Dnipropetrovsk, 888,000 Donetsk (2023)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 15 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 8.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 7.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.5 years (2024 est.)
Male: 65.4 years
Female: 75.8 years

Total fertility rate: 1.22 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 9.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 6.4% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 9.9% (2021 est.); 9.5% (2020 est.); 8.2% (2019 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Capital
Name: Kyiv (Kiev is the transliteration from Russian)
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
Etymology: the origin of the name is unclear; traditionally, the name comes from a Prince Kiy, who is said to have founded the city in the 9th century

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), Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad (Kropyvnytskyi), Kyiv**, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol**, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn (Lutsk), Zakarpattia (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr
Note 1: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers; exceptions show the administrative center name in parentheses
Note 2: the United States does not recognize Russia's annexation or renaming of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the municipality of Sevastopol; it similarly does not recognize the annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (since 20 May 2019)
Head of government: Prime Minister Yulia SVYRYDENKO (since 17 July 2025)
Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, approved by the Verkhovna Rada
Election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister selected by the Verkhovna Rada
Most recent election date: 31 March and 21 April 2019
2019: Volodymyr ZELENSKYY elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (Servant of the People) 30.2%, Petro POROSHENKO (BPP-Solidarity) 15.6%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 13.4%, Yuriy BOYKO (Opposition Platform-For Life) 11.7%, 35 other candidates 29.1%; percent of vote in the second round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY 73.2%, Petro POROSHENKO 24.5%, other 2.3%; Denys SHMYHAL (independent) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 291-59
2014: Petro POROSHENKO elected president in first round; percent of vote - Petro POROSHENKO (independent) 54.5%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 12.9%, Oleh LYASHKO (Radical Party) 8.4%, other 24.2%; Volodymyr HROYSMAN (BPP) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 257-50
Expected date of next election: scheduled for March/April 2024, but not held because Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022
Note: a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC was created in 1992 and tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a presidential administration helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 450 (all directly elected)
Electoral system: mixed system
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 5 years
Most recent election date: 7/21/2019
Parties elected and seats per party: Servant of the People (254); Opposition Platform - For Life (43); Fatherland (26); European Solidarity (25); Independents (46); Other (30)
Percentage of women in chamber: 21.2%
Expected date of next election: May 2025
Note 1: the next legislative election is expected to take place after the Russian-Ukrainian War ends
Note 2: voting not held in Crimea and parts of two Russian-occupied eastern oblasts leaving 26 seats vacant; although this brings the total to 424 elected members (of 450 potential), article 83 of the constitution mandates that a parliamentary majority consists of 226 seats

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and yellow

National anthem
Title: 'Shche ne vmerla Ukraina' (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished)
Lyrics/music: Paul CHUBYNSKYI/Mikhail VERBYTSKYI
History: music adopted 1991, lyrics adopted 2003; current version of the anthem is the first verse of CHUBYNSKYI's poem, plus the chorus

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Real gdp growth rate: 2.9% (2024 est.); 5.5% (2023 est.); -28.8% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 2.9% (2024 est.); 5.5% (2023 est.); -28.8% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 62.4% (2024 est.)
Government consumption: 37.9% (2024 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 18.9% (2024 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.3% (2024 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 29.4% (2024 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -48.3% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.1% (2024 est.)
Industry: 19% (2024 est.)
Services: 60.6% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Industries: industrial machinery, ferrous and nonferrous metals, automotive and aircraft components, electronics, chemicals, textiles, mining, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 20.539 million (2021 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 9.9% (2021 est.); 9.5% (2020 est.); 8.2% (2019 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 9.9% (2021 est.); 9.5% (2020 est.); 8.2% (2019 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $86.185 billion (2023 est.)
Expenditures: $121.657 billion (2023 est.)
Note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 17.5% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Exports: $56.114 billion (2024 est.); $51.28 billion (2023 est.); $57.517 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: corn, seed oils, wheat, iron ore, soybeans (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $92.025 billion (2024 est.); $89.159 billion (2023 est.); $83.254 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, natural gas, packaged medicine, plastic products (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 60.297 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 89.402 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 6.1 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 3.28 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 10.347 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 32.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 50.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 4.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 9.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 19.603 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 25.012 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Exports: 32,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 5.442 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 34.375 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 3,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 192,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 395 million barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 17.681 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 19.705 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Exports: 95.994 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
Imports: 2.028 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.104 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 106.847 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 45.512 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 24.488 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 36.847 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 57.856 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1.434 million (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 50.3 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 135 (2021 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 82% (2023 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 8.07 million (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 20 (2023 est.)

Military expenditures: 4% of GDP (2021 est.); 4.4% of GDP (2020 est.); 3.4% of GDP (2019 est.); 3.1% of GDP (2018 est.); 3.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
Note: since Russia's invasion of the country in early 2022, annual defense spending has increased to more than 30% of GDP according to some estimates

Airports: 152 (2025)

Heliports: 44 (2025)

Railways
Total: 21,733 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 49 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (49 km electrified)
Broad gauge: 21,684 km (2014) 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified)

Merchant marine
Total: 410 (2023)
By type: container ship 1, general cargo 83, oil tanker 14, other 312