Ukraine
republicIndependence 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Ukraine as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 125 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 (1917-1920), 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 independence was achieved 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
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia
18 fieldsLand useshare of 603,700 sq km
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
Natural resources
iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land
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-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
19 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2003 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2001)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 16.3% (male 4,004,948; female 3,832,931)
- 15-64 years:
- 68.7% (male 15,779,735; female 17,225,103)
- 65 years and over:
- 15% (male 2,419,612; female 4,793,110) (2003 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:
- 0.5 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.86 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Religions
Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish
Government
Republic; President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994); Prime Minister Viktor YANUKOVYCH (since 21 November 2002)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada, 450 seats, elected 31 March 2002seats by party
Percent of vote
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
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
National holiday
Independence Day, 24 August (1991); the date of 22 January (1918), the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia), is now celebrated as Unity Day
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Viktor YANUKOVYCH (since 21 November 2002); First Deputy Prime Minister Mykola AZAROV (since 26 November 2002)
- 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 October 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 Kiev (Kyyiv) 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%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, other 24%;
- seats by party - Our Ukraine 102, CPU 60, Regions of Ukraine 42, Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 41, United Social Democratic Party 39, Democratic Initiatives 22, SPU 20, People's Power 19, European Choice 18, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 18, Agrarian Party 17, People's Democratic Party 16, People's Choice 15, others 21
note: following the election, United Ukraine splintered into the Agrarian Party, European Choice, People's Choice, People's Democratic Party, Regions of Ukraine,
and Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
- elections:
- last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
Political parties and leaders
- Agrarian Party [Kateryna VASHCHUK];
- Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO];
- Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH];
- European Choice [Volodymyr STASYUK];
- Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO];
- People's Choice [Mykola HAPOCHKA];
- People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman];
- People's Power [Bohdan HUBSKYY];
- Regions of Ukraine [Viktor YANUKOVYCH];
- Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman];
- United Social Democratic Party [Leonid KRAVCHUK];
- Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Ihor SHAROV];
- Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]
note: and numerous smaller parties
International organization participation
BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), 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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sergiy KORSUNSKYI
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 333-0817
- consulate(s) general:
- Chicago and New York
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 349-2920
- chancery:
- 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Carlos E. PASCUAL
- embassy:
- 10 Yurii Kotsiubynskyi Street, Kiev 01901
- mailing address:
- 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850
- 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
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.
43 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2001 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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 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. 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. 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 of 4.1% in 2002 was more moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed world.
In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence. Growth was a sturdy 6% in 2003 despite a loss of mementum in needed economic reforms.
Industries
coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Exports - commodities
ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exchange rates
hryvnia per US dollar - 5.33 (2002), 5.37 (2001), 5.44 (2000), 4.13 (1999), 2.45 (1998)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone 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
Television broadcast stations
at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Ports and harbors
Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy
Merchant marine
- total:
- 131 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 633,932 GRT/640,743 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 7, cargo 89, container 5, liquefied gas 2, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 10, railcar carrier 2, short-sea passenger 1
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.)
Military
Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal cross-border activities;
- land delimitation of boundary with Russia is complete, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved;
- difficulties in the Transnistria region of Moldova complicate border crossing and customs, facilitating smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities;
- has not resolved Romanian claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years
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;
- drug-related money laundering a minor, but growing, problem;
- lax anti-money-laundering regime
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Ukraine.” The World Factbook 2003. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/ukraine/2003.