Geographic Coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E

Map References: Commonwealth of Independent States

Capital: Kyiv

Area Total: 603,700 sq km (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

Geography—Note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia 2nd-largest country in Europe

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.)

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.)

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.)

Infant Mortality Rate: 21.73 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

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Life Expectancy at Birth:

• Total population: 65.91 years
• Male: 60.23 years
• Female: 71.87 years (1999 est.)

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

Government Type: republic

Administrative Divisions: 24 oblasti (singular—oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular—misto) with oblast status**: Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovs'k, Donets'k, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmel'nyts'kyy, Kirovohrad, Kiev, Luhans'k, L'viv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Avtonomna Respublika Krym*, Rivne, Sevastopol'**, Sumy, Ternopil', Vinnytsya, Volyn, Uzhhorod, Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr.

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Independence: 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

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. Year 2000 took an important place in Ukrainian economy development. Reconstruction of economic activity in the end of 1999 led to economic growth in current year. Not only favorable economic situation promoted it, but success of macroeconomic policy, especially in budget sphere, the order in state finances, improvement of payment discipline in energy sector, market reforms in agriculture were speeded up. The increase of economic activity in the beginning of the year was not episodic. It was stipulated by increase of demand on the internal market thank to growth of people’s real income and favorable foreign economic conjuncture. That allowed to concentrate efforts on having stimulating macroeconomic policy and make structural reforms more active. Free exchange rate was introduced, its stability was guaranteed by economic methods. The policy of further falling in price of bank’s credit resources by consecutive decrease of discount rate of National Bank of Ukraine continued (in August 2000 for the fourth time in a year it was decreased to 27% from 45% at the year beginning).

For more information about Ukraine, past and present, please see:

DID YOU KNOW ? – Some facts about Ukraine

• Ukraine occupies an area of 603,700 square kilometers, and is among the largest European countries. Territorially it is larger than France (544,000 sq. km.), Spain (505,000 sq. km.), Sweden (450,000 sq. km.), and Poland (312,700 sq. km.).

• In terms of population (50.5 million as of January 1, 1998), Ukraine ranks fifth in Europe after Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden. The population density per one square kilometer amounts to an average of 85.6 people, the European average being 67.

• In its ethnic composition, Ukraine is a multi-ethnic Republic, inhabited by more than 110 ethnic groups, of which Ukrainian (72.7%) are the largest, followed by Russians, Jews, Belarussians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles and Hungarians.

• The easternmost point is in the township of Milove, Luhansk Region. The westernmost point is the city of Chop in Transcarpathia, the distance between them being 1,270 kilometers. In its widest central part, the distance between the northernmost village of Muravyi in the Chernihiv Region and the southernmost Sarych Promontory in Crimea equals 900 kilometers.

• The largest mountain system is the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, which are part of the Eastern Carpathians. The mountains stretch to the west within the territories of the Transcarpathian, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions.

• The highest mountain peak, Hoverla, is in the Ukrainian Carpathians within the territories of Transcarpathian and Ivano-Frankivsk.

• The Black Sea borders Ukraine to the south. The Dnieper is the country’s largest river. The deepest river is the Danube. Yalpug is Ukraine’s largest lake in the Danube delta of the Odesa Region.

• The deepest lake is Svitiaz in the basin of the Southern Buh. It is one of the Shatsk Lakes in Volyn.

• The highest mountain lake is Brebeneskul, between the Carpathian range of Chornohora and the Hutyn-Tamnatyk Mountain.

• As of January 1, 1990, Ukraine numbered 436 cities inhabited by more than 68% of the country’s population. Over 75% of basic production assets and about 95% of scientific research institutions are concentrated in these metropolitan areas.