Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Benin (2003) - Ukraine (2002) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Benin (2003) - Ukraine (2002)

Compare Benin (2003) z Ukraine (2002)

 Benin (2003)Ukraine (2002)
 BeninUkraine
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou 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
Age structure 0-14 years: 47% (male 1,668,817; female 1,638,291)


15-64 years: 50.7% (male 1,739,517; female 1,834,231)


65 years and over: 2.3% (male 67,504; female 93,130) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 4,147,344; female 3,970,343)


15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,881,821; female 17,366,172)


65 years and over: 14.5% (male 2,341,885; female 4,688,905) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Airports 5 (2002) 718 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
total: 114


over 3,047 m: 14


2,438 to 3,047 m: 50


1,524 to 2,437 m: 21


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 26 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)
total: 604


over 3,047 m: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 37


1,524 to 2,437 m: 52


914 to 1,523 m: 45


under 914 m: 457 (2002)
Area total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
total: 603,700 sq km


land: 603,700 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly smaller than Texas
Background Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. Ukraine was the center of the first 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 agaist 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 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.
Birth rate 43.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 9.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $377.4 million


expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
revenues: $10.2 billion


expenditures: $11.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Capital Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government Kiev (Kyyiv)
Climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north 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
Coastline 121 km 2,782 km
Constitution December 1990 adopted 28 June 1996
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Benin


conventional short form: Benin


local long form: Republique du Benin


local short form: Benin


former: Dahomey
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Ukraine


local long form: none


local short form: Ukrayina


former: Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States hryvnia (UAH)
Death rate 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 16.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1.6 billion (2000) $11.8 billion (2001)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL


embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou


mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou


telephone: [229] 30-06-50


FAX: [229] 30-06-70
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos PASCUAL


embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynskyi Street, Kiev 01901


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000


FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN


chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656


FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996
chief of mission: Ambassador Konstantin Ivanovych HRYSHCHENKO


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
Disputes - international two villages are in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, but states accept 2001 arbitration over disputed Niger River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved the boundary stones - joint commission presently resurveying the boundary Ukraine and Romania have yet to resolve claims over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and delimitation of Black Sea maritime boundary, despite 1997 bilateral treaty to find a solution in two years and numerous talks; Russia and Ukraine have successfully delimited land boundary in 2001, but disagree on delimitation of maritime boundary in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea; Moldovan difficulties with break-away Transnistria region inhibit establishment of a joint customs regime with Ukraine to curtail smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities
Economic aid - recipient $342.6 million (2000) $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) (1995)
Economy - overview The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms. 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 late 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% 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 and have threatened to withdraw financial support. 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 was undergirded by strong domestic demand and growing consumer and investor confidence.
Electricity - consumption 631.1 million kWh (2001) 151.72 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 400 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 376 million kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 274.3 million kWh (2001) 163.57 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 14.2%


hydro: 85.8%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: 50%


hydro: 7%


nuclear: 43%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m


highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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
Ethnic groups African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 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% (2001)
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3126 (January 2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997)
Executive branch chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006)


election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9%


note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match"
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 Oleh DUBYNA (since 29 May 2001)


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 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA 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%
Exports NA (2001) $17.3 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners India 25%, Italy 11.1%, Indonesia 7.4%, China 7.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Brazil 6.1%, UK 4.4%, Niger 4% (2002) Russia 22.6%, Turkey 6.2%, Italy 5.1%, Germany (2001 est.)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky
GDP purchasing power parity - $7.38 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $205 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 38%


industry: 15%


services: 47% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 13%


industry: 40%


services: 47% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6% (2002 est.) 9% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
Highways total: 6,787 km


paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)


unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
total: 273,700 km


paved: 236,400 km (including 1,770 km of expressways and a substantial amount of all-weather roads with gravel surfaces)


unpaved: 37,300 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 4%


highest 10%: 23% (1999)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure 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
Imports NA (2001) $17.1 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners China 30.7%, France 15.7%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.2% (2002) Russia 36.9%, Turkmenistan 10.5%, Germany 8.7%, US (2001 est.)
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 8.3% (2001 est.) 14.2% (2001 est.)
Industries textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Infant mortality rate total: 86.76 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 91.79 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 81.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
21.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.3% (2002 est.) 12% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, 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, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2002) 260 (2001)
Irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.) 24,540 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Labor force NA 22.8 million (yearend 1997)
Labor force - by occupation - industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) (1996)
Land boundaries total: 1,989 km


border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
total: 4,663 km


border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 526 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 97 km
Land use arable land: 15.28%


permanent crops: 1.36%


other: 83.36% (1998 est.)
arable land: 57.1%


permanent crops: 1.73%


other: 41.17% (1998 est.)
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31
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)


elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)


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
Life expectancy at birth total population: 51.08 years


male: 50.35 years


female: 51.84 years (2003 est.)
total population: 66.33 years


male: 60.86 years


female: 72.06 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 40.9%


male: 56.2%


female: 26.5% (2000)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 100%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia
Map references Africa Asia, Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 NM continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine none (2002 est.) total: 138 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 669,303 GRT/707,857 DWT


ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 100, container 3, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 12, railcar carrier 2


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 branches Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops
Military expenditures - dollar figure $80.8 million (FY02) $500 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.7% (FY02) 1.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability note: both sexes are liable for military service


males age 15-49: 1,597,562


females age 15-49: 1,536,036 (2003 est.)
males age 15-49: 12,263,178 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 805,603


females age 15-49: 809,961 (2003 est.)
males age 15-49: 9,616,864 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 75,021


females: 78,998 (2003 est.)
males: 390,823 (2002 est.)
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) Independence Day, 24 August (1991)
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun: Ukrainian(s)


adjective: Ukrainian
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March NA
Natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 4,000 km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998)
Political parties and leaders African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]


note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
Agrarian Party [Kateryna VASHCHUK]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH]; European Choice [Volodymyr Stasyuk]; Our Ukraine [Vikto YUSHCHENKO]; People's Choice [Mykola HAPOCHKA]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman]; People's Power [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Regions of Ukraine [Rayisa BOHATYRYOVA]; 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
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 7,041,490


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
48,396,470 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 37% (2001 est.) 29% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 2.95% (2003 est.) -0.72% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Cotonou, Porto-Novo Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios - 45.05 million (1997)
Railways total: 578 km


narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)
total: 22,510 km


broad gauge: 21,951 km 1.524-m gauge (8,927 km electrified)


standard gauge: 49 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 510 km 0.750-m gauge


note: these data do not include railroads dedicated to serving industry and not in common carrier service (2001)
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female


total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female


total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable
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
Telephones - main lines in use 51,000 (2000) 9.45 million (April 1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular 55,500 (2000) 236,000 (1998)
Television broadcast stations 1;; (2001) at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains 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
Total fertility rate 6.04 children born/woman (2003 est.) 1.32 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 3.6% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (November 2001)
Waterways streams navigable along small sections, important only locally 4,499 km


note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dniester (Dnister) (1990)
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.