Eastern Europe*;
Neighbors are Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Russia, and Belarus
*Ukraine is part of former Soviet Union or USSR, one of the NIS states ("Newly Independent States"), and member of CIS ("Commonwealth of Independent States", a subdivision of the NIS)
603,000 km2
(slightly larger than France and slightly smaller than Texas)
48 million (down from peak of 51 million in 1980s)
| Kyiv |
2,635,300 |
(realistically approaching 4 million) |
| Kharkiv |
1,575,900 |
| Dnipropetrovsk |
1,161,200 |
| Donetsk |
1,101,800 |
| Odesa |
1,059,500 |
| Zaporizhya |
887,400 |
| Lviv |
805,900 |
| Kryvyy Rih |
703,000 |
| Mykolayiv |
519,000 |
| Mariupol |
490,000 |
| Luhansk |
493,300 |
Kyiv (or Kiev)*
*Kyiv is derived from Ukrainian and Kiev from Russian (Kiev is considered the birthplace of Russian and East Slavic culture and statehood). While Kyiv is now considered politically correct, Kiev appears in Google seven times more frequently.
Ukrainian and Russian*
*Ukrainian is Ukraine's single official government language;
In everyday use the languages are about equally popular across Ukraine, though proportion of usage differs widely by region. However, the vast majority of the population is functionally bilingual.
| Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainians: |
38% |
| Russian-speaking Ukrainians: |
30% |
| Russian-speaking Russians: |
17% |
| not sure: |
10% |
| other ethnicity: |
5% |
95% of Ukraine is flat or nearly flat, with small rolling hills.
In the west the Carpathians rise to 2,061 m and in the south the Crimean Mountains reach 1,545 m.
Temperate continental, except for a small strip of Crimea's southern coast, which has a mediterranean climate.
Ukrainian Orthodoxy – Moscow Patriarchate
Ukrainian Orthodoxy – Kyiv Patriarchate
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodoxy
Ukrainian Catholicism (Uniate)
Protestantism
Jewish Orthodoxy
Greek Catholicism
GDP: $49.9 billion (2004), GDP per capita: $1,023 (official*)
*In actuality, about 50% of Ukraine's economic production is "in the shadows," and actual earnings are greater. In addition, the hryvnia has been fixed to the dollar for years and is now quite undervalued.
Using "purchasing power parity" the following numbers come closer to the truth: GDP: $260.4 billion, GDP per capita: $5,400, GDP real growth rate: 9.4%
In 2004 Ukraine was Europe's fastest growing economy, but has yet to reach pre-1991 levels of economic production.
Hryvnia (or grivna, if transliterated from Russian).
Abbreviation = UAH (sometimes "hr").
Exchange rate since spring 2005 hovers around 5 UAH to 1 USD.
Republic
Powerful executive branch with five-year presidential term and Cabinet of Ministers with a Prime Minister appointed by the President.
Legislative branch consists of unicameral 450-seat Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council).
Supreme Court, Constitutional Court. Ukraine's government structure is still in a developmental stage.
During President Kuchma's terms (1994-2004) the executive branch became the only real center of power, but this is likely to be changed in 2005-2006 by a series of administrative and constitutional reforms.
Ukraine consists of 27 administrative regions: 24 oblasts, the Crimea Autonomous Republic, and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
More on Ukraine's political system from Ukrainian Embassy in Canada.
Links to Ukraine's principal governing bodies from Ukraine State Tax Administration.
| January 1 |
New Year's Day |
| January 7 |
Christmas (Orthodox calendar) |
| March 8 |
International Women's Day |
| May 1 and 2 |
International Workers' Solidarity Day |
| May 9 |
Victory Day |
| June 28 |
Constitution Day |
| August 24 |
Independence Day |
Principal exports are metals, minerals, electronics, chemicals, and vegetables.
2004 Report on Ukraine's economy, investment climate, and economic freedom from The Heritage Foundation.
Gradually aging population.
The birth rate plummeted in the 1990s but is slowly recovering as the economic situation improves.
One of the highest women-to-men ratios in the world.