Ukraine

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Ukraine

|Geography |

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Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and

Russia

Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:

total: 603,700 sq km

land: 603,700 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:

total: 4,558 km

border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland

428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km,

Slovakia 90 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

Land use:

arable land: 58%

permanent crops: 2%

permanent pastures: 13%

forests and woodland: 18%

other: 9% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 26,050 sq km (1993 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-

Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental

Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,

Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air

Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-

Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography—note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and

Asia; second-largest country in Europe

|People |

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Population: 49,811,174 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 18% (male 4,690,318; female 4,498,239)

15-64 years: 68% (male 16,136,296; female 17,572,011)

65 years and over: 14% (male 2,251,664; female 4,662,646) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.62% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.54 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 16.38 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female

total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 21.73 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 65.91 years

male: 60.23 years

female: 71.87 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.34 children born/woman (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 |

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Country name:

conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Ukraine

local long form: none

local short form: Ukrayina

former: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: UP

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: oblasts have the administrative center name following in parentheses

Independence: 1 December 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 Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO (since 16 July

1997), First Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr KURATCHENKO (since 14 January

1999), and three deputy prime ministers

cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by

the Supreme Council

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

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election

last held 26 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA October 1999); prime

minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved

by the People's Council

election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of

vote—Leonid KUCHMA 52.15%, Leonid KRAVCHUK 45.06%

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450

seats; under Ukraine's new election law, half of the Rada's seats are

allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 4% of the

national electoral vote; the other 225 members are elected by popular vote

in single-mandate constituencies; all serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 29 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002); note—repeat

elections continuing to fill vacant seats

election results: percent of vote by party (for parties clearing 4% hurdle

on 29 March 1998)—Communist 24.7%, Rukh 9.4%, Socialist/Peasant 8.6%, Green

5.3%, People's Democratic Party 5.0%, Hromada 4.7%, Progressive Socialist

4.0%, United Social Democratic Party 4.0%; seats by party (as of 8 July

1998)—Communist 120, People's Democratic Party 88, Rukh 47, Hromada 45,

Socialist/Peasant 33, United Social Democratic 25, Green 24, Progressive

Socialist 14, independents 26, vacant 28

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Ukraine [Petro

SYMONENKO]; Hromad [Pavlo LAZARENKO]; Ukrainian Popular Movement or Rukh

[Vyacheslav CHORNOVIL, chairman]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU

[Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Peasant Party of Ukraine or SelPU [Serhiy

DOVAN]; People's Democratic Party or NDPU [Anatoliy MATVIYENKO, chairman];

Reforms and Order Party [Viktor PYNZENYK]; United Social Democratic Party

of Ukraine [Vasyl ONOPENKO]; Agrarian Party of Ukraine or APU [Kateryna

VASHCHUK]; Liberal Party of Ukraine or LPU [Volodymyr SHCHERBAN]; Green

Party of Ukraine or PZU [Vitaliy KONONOV, leader]; Progressive Socialist

Party [Natalya VITRENKO]

note: and numerous smaller parties

Political pressure groups and leaders: New Ukraine (Nova Ukrayina);

Congress of National Democratic Forces

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC,

EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO,

IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM

(observer), ISO, ITU, MONUA, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,

UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNPREDEP, UPU, WFTU, WHO,

WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Anton Denysovych BUTEYKO

chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606

FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817

consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Steven Karl PIFER

embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsubynskoho, 254053 Kiev 53

mailing address: use embassy street address

telephone: [380] (44) 246-9750

FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden

yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky

|Economy |

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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

equipment and raw materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions

of the former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially

natural gas. Shortly after the implosion of the USSR 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 in 1992-98 fell to less than half the 1991 level.

Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in

late 1993. Since his election in July 1994, President KUCHMA has pushed

economic reforms, maintained financial discipline, and tried to remove

almost all remaining controls over prices and foreign trade. The onset of

the financial crisis in Russia dashed Ukraine's hopes for its first year of

economic growth in 1998 due to a sharp fall in export revenue and reduced

domestic demand. Although administrative currency controls will be lifted

in early 1999, they are likely to be reimposed when the hryvnia next comes

under pressure. The currency is only likely to collapse further if Ukraine

abandons tight monetary policies or threatens default. Despite increasing

pressure from the IMF to accelerate reform, significant economic

restructuring remains unlikely in 1999.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$108.5 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: -1.7% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,200 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:

agriculture: 14%

industry: 30%

services: 56% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: 50% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 4.1%

highest 10%: 20.8% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (yearend 1998 est.)

Labor force: 22.8 million (yearend 1997)

Labor force—by occupation: industry and construction 32%, agriculture and

forestry 24%, health, education, and culture 17%, trade and distribution

8%, transport and communication 7%, other 12% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered

or underemployed workers (December 1998)

Budget:

revenues: $18 billion

expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997

est.)

Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery

and transport equipment, chemicals, food-processing (especially sugar)

Industrial production growth rate: -1.5% (1998 est.)

Electricity—production: 171.8 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity—production by source:

fossil fuel: 47%

hydro: 9.2%

nuclear: 43.8%

other: 0% (1998)

Electricity—consumption: 174 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity—exports: 5 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity—imports: 7 billion kWh (1998)

Agriculture—products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables;

beef, milk

Exports: $11.3 billion (1998 est.)

Exports—commodities: ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, machinery

and transport equipment, food products

Exports—partners: Russia, China,, Turkey, Germany, Belarus (1998)

Imports: $13.1 billion (1998 est.)

Imports—commodities: energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment,

chemicals, plastics and rubber

Imports—partners: Russia, Germany, US, Poland, Italy (1998)

Debt—external: $10.9 billion (October 1998)

Economic aid—recipient: $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility

$2.2 billion (1998)

Currency: 1 hryvna=100 kopiykas

Exchange rates: hryvnia per US$1—3.4270 (February 1999), 2.4495 (1998),

1.8617 (1997), 1.8295 (1996), 1.4731 (1995), 0.3275 (1994)

note: in August 1998, Ukraine introduced currency controls in an attempt to

fend off the impact of the Russian financial crisis; it created an exchange

rate corridor for the hryvnia of 2.5-3.5 hryvnia per US$1

Fiscal year: calendar year

|Communications |

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Telephones: 12,531,277 (1998)

Telephone system: Ukraine's phone systems are administered through the

State Committee for Communications; Ukraine has a telecommunication

development plan through 2005; Internet service is available in large

cities

domestic: local—Kiev has a digital loop connected to the national digital

backbone; Kiev has several cellular phone companies providing service in

the different standards; some companies offer intercity roaming and even

limited international roaming; cellular phone service is offered in at

least 100 cities nationwide

international: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures

greatly improved the Ukrainian telephone system; Ukraine's two main fiber-

optic lines are part of the Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE); these

lines connect Ukraine to worldwide service through Belarus, Hungary, and

Poland; Odesa is a landing point for the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia

Undersea Fiber-Optic Cable (ITUR) giving Ukraine an additional fiber-optic

link to worldwide service; Ukraine has Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik

earth stations

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note—at least 25

local broadcast stations of NA type (1998)

Radios: 15 million (1990)

Television broadcast stations: at least 33 (in addition 21 repeater

stations that relay ORT broadcasts from Russia) (1997)

Televisions: 17.3 million (1992)

|Transportation |

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Railways:

total: 23,350 km

broad gauge: 23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified)

Highways:

total: 172,565 km

paved: 163,937 km (including 1,875 km of expressways); note—these roads are

said to be hard-surfaced, meaning that some are paved and some are all-

weather gravel surfaced

unpaved: 8,628 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 4,400 km navigable waterways, of which 1,672 km were on the

Pryp''yat' and Dnistr (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, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev

(Kyyiv), Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni

Merchant marine:

total: 181 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,022,047 GRT/1,101,278 DWT

ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 117, liquefied gas tanker 1, container 4,

multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 16, passenger 12, passenger-

cargo 3, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo

10, short-sea passenger 3 (1998 est.)

Airports: 706 (1994 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:

total: 163

over 3,047 m: 14

2,438 to 3,047 m: 55

1,524 to 2,437 m: 34

914 to 1,523 m: 3

under 914 m: 57 (1994 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:

total: 543

over 3,047 m: 7

2,438 to 3,047 m: 7

1,524 to 2,437 m: 16

914 to 1,523 m: 37

under 914 m: 476 (1994 est.)

|Military |

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Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Internal

Troops, National Guard, Border Troops

Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower—availability:

males age 15-49: 12,434,486 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:

males age 15-49: 9,740,684 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:

males: 365,762 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $414 million (1999)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.4% (1999)

|Transnational Issues |

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Disputes—international: dispute with Romania over continental shelf of the

Black Sea under which significant gas and oil deposits may exist; agreed in

1997 to two-year negotiating period, after which either party can refer

dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ); has made no

territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and

does not recognize the claims of any other nation

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

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