Ukraine
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan 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 achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest referred to as the "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. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019. Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a "referendum" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The "referendum" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the "referendum" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel driving an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government that continues to this day. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 to end the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the unrecognized Russian proxy republics, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also meet regularly to facilitate implementation of the peace deal. More than 13,000 civilians have been killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.

geography

location

AsiaEurope
49.0° N, 32. 0° E
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east

area

603,550 sq km
land
579,330 sq km
water
24,220 sq km

land boundaries

5,618 km

coastline

2,782 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; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south

terrain

mostly fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the extreme south of the Crimean Peninsula

elevation

175 m
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
56.1 %
permanent crops
1.5 %
permanent pasture
13.6 %
forest
16.8 %
other
12 %

population distribution

densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; noteable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa

people

population

  • 43,922,939
  • 33
    global rank

nationality

  • Ukrainian(s)
    noun
  • Ukrainian
    adjective

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 %

languages

  • Ukrainian
    official
  • Russian
    regional language
  • other
    includes small Crimean Tatar-, Moldovan/Romanian-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities

religions

  • Orthodox and the Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate
  • Ukrainian Greek Catholic
  • Roman Catholic
  • Protestant
  • Muslim
  • Jewish

birth rate

  • 9.6
    per 1,000 population
  • 194
    global rank

death rate

  • 14
    per 1,000 population
  • 5
    global rank

urban population

69.6 %

major urban areas

  • Kyiv
    pop. 2,988,000
  • Kharkiv
    pop. 1,429,000
  • Odesa
    pop. 1,009,000
  • Dnipropetrovsk
    pop. 957,000
  • Donetsk
    pop. 906,000

life expectancy

  • 72.9
    total population
  • 150
    global rank
68.2
male
77.9
female

adult obesity rate

  • 24.1%
    percent of adults
  • 61
    global rank

government

country name

    conventional

  • none
    long form
  • Ukraine
    short form

    local

  • none
    long form
  • Ukraina
    short form

government type

semi-presidential republic

capital

Kyiv (Kiev)
50.26 N, 30.31 E

independence

national holidays

  • Independence Day
    24 August

legal system

civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

age of suffrage

18

flag description

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

national colors

  • blue
  • yellow

national anthem

"Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished)

economy

overview

After Russia, the Ukrainian Republic was 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 accounted for 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 unique equipment such as large diameter pipes and vertical drilling apparatus, and raw materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions of the former USSR. Shortly after independence in August 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. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms to foster economic growth. 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. From 2000 until mid-2008, Ukraine's economy was buoyant despite political turmoil between the prime minister and president. The economy contracted nearly 15% in 2009, among the worst economic performances in the world. In April 2010, Ukraine negotiated a price discount on Russian gas imports in exchange for extending Russia's lease on its naval base in Crimea. Ukraine’s oligarch-dominated economy grew slowly from 2010 to 2013 but remained behind peers in the region and among Europe’s poorest. After former President YANUKOVYCH fled the country during the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine’s economy fell into crisis because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, military conflict in the eastern part of the country, and a trade war with Russia, resulting in a 17% decline in GDP, inflation at nearly 60%, and dwindling foreign currency reserves. The international community began efforts to stabilize the Ukrainian economy, including a March 2014 IMF assistance package of $17.5 billion, of which Ukraine has received four disbursements, most recently in April 2017, bringing the total disbursed as of that date to approximately $8.4 billion. Ukraine has made progress on reforms designed to make the country prosperous, democratic, and transparent, including creation of a national anti-corruption agency, overhaul of the banking sector, establishment of a transparent VAT refund system, and increased transparency in government procurement. But more improvements are needed, including fighting corruption, developing capital markets, improving the business environment to attract foreign investment, privatizing state-owned enterprises, and land reform. The fifth tranche of the IMF program, valued at $1.9 billion, was delayed in mid-2017 due to lack of progress on outstanding reforms, including adjustment of gas tariffs to import parity levels and adoption of legislation establishing an independent anti-corruption court. Russia’s occupation of Crimea in March 2014 and ongoing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine have hurt economic growth. With the loss of a major portion of Ukraine’s heavy industry in Donbas and ongoing violence, the economy contracted by 6.6% in 2014 and by 9.8% in 2015, but it returned to low growth in in 2016 and 2017, reaching 2.3% and 2.0%, respectively, as key reforms took hold. Ukraine also redirected trade activity towards the EU following the implementation of a bilateral Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, displacing Russia as its largest trading partner. A prohibition on commercial trade with separatist-controlled territories in early 2017 has not impacted Ukraine’s key industrial sectors as much as expected, largely because of favorable external conditions. Ukraine returned to international debt markets in September 2017, issuing a $3 billion sovereign bond.

GDP

369,600,000,000 USD
2017

agriculture products

  • grain
  • sugar beets
  • sunflower seeds
  • vegetables
  • beef
  • milk

poverty level

3.8%
2016

budget

  • 29,820,000,000
    revenue (USD)
  • 31,550,000,000
    expenditures (USD)

communications

telephones

    fixed lines

  • 6,074,255
    total subscriptions
  • 25
    global rank

    mobile cellular

  • 53,933,592
    total subscriptions
  • 29
    global rank

broadcast media

Ukraine’s media landscape is dominated by oligarch-owned news outlets, which are often politically motivated and at odds with one another and/or the government; while polls suggest most Ukrainians still receive news from traditional media sources, social media is a crucial component of information dissemination in Ukraine; almost all Ukrainian politicians and opinion leaders communicate with the public via social media and maintain at least one social media page, if not more; this allows them direct communication with audiences, and news often breaks on Facebook or Twitter before being picked up by traditional news outlets Ukraine television serves as the principal source of news; the largest national networks are controlled by oligarchs: TRK Ukraina is owned by Rinat Akhmetov; Studio 1+1 is owned by Ihor Kolomoyskyy; Inter is owned by Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Lyovochkin; and StarlightMedia channels (ICTV, STB, and Novyi Kanal) are owned by Victor Pinchuk;  a set of 24-hour news channels also have clear political affiliations: 112-Ukraine and NewsOne tacitly support pro-Russian opposition and are believed to be controlled by political and business tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk; pro-Ukrainian government Channel 5 and Pryamyi are linked to President Petro Poroshenko; 24 and ZIK are owned by opposition, but not pro-Russian, politicians; UA: Suspilne is a public television station under the umbrella of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine; while it is often praised by media experts for balanced coverage, it lags in popularity; Ukrainian Radio, institutionally linked to UA: Suspilne, is one of only two national talk radio networks, with the other being the privately owned Radio NV (2019)

internet

.ua
country code

    users

  • 25,883,509
    total
  • 58.89
    % of population
  • 29
    global rank

energy

electricity access

100%
2016

transportation

air transport

    national system

  • 17
    registered air carriers
  • 4,613,224
    annual passenger traffic

    airports

  • 187
    total
  • 108
    paved

railways

21,733 km
total length

roadways

169,694 km
total length

waterways

1,672 km
total length

military

expenditures

expenditures here

service age

20