Ukraine

§1. Ukraine Introduction

Background:
  Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during
  the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in
  Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus
  was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the
  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan
  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. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the
  country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity.

§2. Ukraine Geography

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

Geographic coordinates:
  49 00 N, 32 00 E

Map references:
  Asia, Europe

Area:
  total: 603,700 km²
  land: 603,700 km²
  water: 0 km²

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:
  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
  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:
  24,540 km² (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 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

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

§3. Ukraine People

Population:
  46,710,816 (July 2006 est.)

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.)

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

Population growth rate:
  -0.6% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
  -0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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.)

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.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.98 years
  male: 64.71 years
  female: 75.59 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.17 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  1.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  360,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  20,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ukrainian(s)
  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)

Religions:
  Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev 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.)

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

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

People - note:
  the sex trafficking of Ukrainian women is a serious problem that has only
  recently been addressed

§4. Ukraine Government

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:
  Kiev (Kyyiv)

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, Kiev
  (Kyyiv)**, Kyyiv, 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)

Independence:
  24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

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

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 Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
  head of government: Prime Minister Yuriy YEKHANUROV (since 22 September
    2005); First Deputy Prime Minister - Stanislav STASHEVSKYY (since 27
    September 2005)
  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; 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%

Legislative branch:
  unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under recent
  amendments to Ukraine's election law, the Rada's seats are allocated on a
  proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national
  electoral vote; members serve five-year terms beginning with the March 2006
  election)
  elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held 26 March 2006)
  election results: percent of vote by party/bloc in 2002 - Our Ukraine 24%,
    CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, United
    Social Democratic Party 6%, other 24%; seats by party/bloc - Regions of
    Ukraine 61, CPU 56, People's Party 41, Our Ukraine 40, Yuliya Tymoshenko
    Bloc 35, SPU 29, Lytyvn-led People's Bloc 22, United Social Democratic
    Party 19, Ukrainian People's Party 18, People's Movement of Ukraine
    (Rukh) 16, Vidrodzhennya (Revival) 16, Party of Industrialists and
    Entrepreneurs 16, Reforms and Order 15, United Ukraine 12,
    independent/unaffiliated 31, vacant 23 (January 2006)
  note: since the "Orange Revolution," many Rada members from single-mandate
    districts resigned to take up positions in the executive branch and their
    seats remain vacant

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

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]; Socialist
  Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Ukrainian People's
  Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; United Social Democratic Party [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK];
  United Ukraine [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Vidrodzhennya (Revival) [Anton KISSE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]

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, MIGA, MONUC,
  NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL,
  WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John E. HERBST
  embassy: 10 Yuriia Kotsiubynskoho, 04053 Kiev
  mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850
  telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000
  FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085

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

§5. Ukraine Economy

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $319.4 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $77.91 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  2.4% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $6,800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 22.5%
  industry: 33.2%
  services: 44.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  22.67 (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996)

Unemployment rate:
  2.9% 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.)

Population below poverty line:
  29% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3.4%
  highest 10%: 24.8% (2005)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  29 (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  10.3% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  17.7% of GDP (January-September 2005)

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

Public debt:
  18% of GDP (2005 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:
  3% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  181.3 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  176 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  1 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  255 million kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
  85,660 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:
  491,700 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
  395 million bbl (9 November 2004)

Natural gas - production:
  20.3 billion m³ (2004)

Natural gas - consumption:
  75.8 billion m³ (2004)

Natural gas - exports:
  3.9 billion m³ (2004)

Natural gas - imports:
  59.8 billion m³ (2004)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  1.121 trillion m³ (9 November 2004)

Current account balance:
  $2.24 billion (2005)

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 18%, Germany 5.8%, Turkey 5.7%, Italy 5%, US 4.6% (2004)

Imports:
  $37.18 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners:
  Russia 41.8%, Germany 9.6%, Turkmenistan 6.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $19.39 billion (2005)

Debt - external:
  $33.93 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)

Currency (code):
  hryvnia (UAH)

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

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Ukraine Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  12.142 million (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  13.735 million (2004)

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

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:
  at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)

Internet country code:
  .ua

Internet hosts:
  167,501 (2005)

Internet users:
  5,278,100 (2005)

§7. Ukraine Transportation

Airports:
  537 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 199
  over 3,047 m: 13
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 57
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 30
  914 to 1,523 m: 5
  under 914 m: 94 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 338
  over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
  914 to 1,523 m: 22
  under 914 m: 298 (2005)

Heliports:
  10 (2005)

Pipelines:
  gas 20,069 km; oil 4,540 km; refined products 4,169 km (2004)

Railways:
  total: 22,473 km
  broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 169,739 km
  paved: 164,630 km (including 15 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 5,109 km (2003)

Waterways:
  1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2006)

Merchant marine:
  total: 204 ships (1000 GRT or over) 780,262 GRT/911,489 DWT
  by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 153, container 4, passenger 7,
    passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll
    on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2
  registered in other countries: 142 (Belize 3, Cambodia 12, Comoros 12,
    Cyprus 3, Georgia 23, North Korea 1, Liberia 15, Malta 26, Moldova 3,
    Mongolia 1, Panama 7, Russia 9, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent
    and the Grenadines 13, Sierra Leone 1, Slovakia 8, unknown 4) (2005)

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

§8. Ukraine Military

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

Military service age and obligation:
  18-27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript
  service obligation - 18 months for Army and Air Force, 24 months for Navy
  (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 11,067,239 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 7,114,337 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 378,176 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $617.9 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.4% (FY02)

§9. Ukraine Transnational Issues

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


<Factbook 2006>
