Gabon (2002) | Ukraine (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem | 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: 33.3% (male 205,559; female 204,796)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 376,103; female 371,422) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 37,220; female 38,253) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.3% (male 4,310,158; female 4,127,677) 15-64 years: 68.57% (male 15,965,079; female 17,468,035) 65 years and over: 14.13% (male 2,275,004; female 4,614,521) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk |
Airports | 59 (2001) | 718 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 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 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 47
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 24 (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 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
total:
603,700 sq km land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Colorado | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. | Richly endowed in natural resources, Ukraine has been fought over and subjugated for centuries; its 20th-century struggle for liberty is not yet complete. A short-lived independence from Russia (1917-1920) was followed by brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died, and World War II, in which German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 million more deaths. Although independence was attained 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 civic liberties. |
Birth rate | 27.24 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.31 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$8.3 billion expenditures: $8.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Libreville | Kiev (Kyyiv) |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | 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 | 885 km | 2,782 km |
Constitution | adopted 14 March 1991 | adopted 28 June 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
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 (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | hryvnia (UAH) |
Death rate | 17.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (2001 est.) | $10.3 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth P. MOOREFIELD
embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Carlos PASCUAL embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsubynskoho, 254053 Kiev 53 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 Jules-Darius OGOUEBANDJA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
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 | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay | has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation |
Economic aid - recipient | $331 million (1995) (1995) | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) |
Economy - overview | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. | 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 in 1992-99 fell 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 and streamline the regulation process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs and protect ownership rights, 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%. As the capacity for further export-based economic expansion diminishes, GDP growth in 2001 is likely to decline to around 3%. |
Electricity - consumption | 790.5 million kWh (2000) | 146.675 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.3 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 850 million kWh (2000) | 157.823 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
47.67% hydro: 9.65% nuclear: 42.67% other: 0.01% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; poaching | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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 | Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality | Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.4331 (January 2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997), 1.8295 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
chief of state:
President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Anatoliy KINAKH (since 29 May 2001), 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 | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $14.6 billion (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 81%, timber, manganese, uranium (2000) | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, machinery and transport equipment, food products |
Exports - partners | US 51%, France 17%, China 8%, Netherlands Antilles 4% (2000) | Russia 24%, Europe 30%, US 5% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $189.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
12% industry: 26% services: 62% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,850 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 11 45 E | 49 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe |
Highways | total: 8,454 km
paved: 838 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,616 km (2000) |
total:
273,700 km paved: 236,400 km (including 1,770 km of expressways); note - (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) 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%:
3.9% highest 10%: 26.4% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey, and to Europe and Russia; drug-related money laundering a minor, but growing, problem |
Imports | $921 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $15 billion (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials | energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, US 5%, Belgium 3% (2000) | Russia 42%, Europe 29%, US 3% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 17 August 1960 (from France) | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -6.4% (2001 est.) | 12.9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) |
Infant mortality rate | 93.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 21.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 25.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | 32 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km (1998 est.) | 26,050 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court |
Labor force | 600,000 600,000 | 22.8 million (yearend 1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% | industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
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 |
Land use | arable land: 1.26%
permanent crops: 0.66% other: 98.08% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
58% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 18% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats); members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8, PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1, independents 13, others 3; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine's new election law, half 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 29 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party (for parties clearing 4% hurdle on 29 March 1998) - Communist Party 24.7%, Rukh (combined) 9.4%, SPU/SelPU 8.6%, PZU 5.3%, People's Democratic Party 5.0%, Hromada Party 4.7%, Progressive Socialist Party 4.0%, United Social Democratic Party 4.0%; seats by party (as of 25 February 2000) - Communist Party 115, PRVU 36, Fatherland Party 35, United Social Democratic Party 34, People's Democratic Party 27, Trudova Ukrayina Party 27, Rukh K 27, left-center 23, PZU 18, Rukh U 17, SelPU 15, Hromada Party 14, Reforms-Congress 12, independents 14, unaffiliated 31, vacant 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.11 years
male: 48.01 years female: 50.25 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
66.15 years male: 60.62 years female: 71.96 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 100% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia |
Map references | Africa | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf:
200-m or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
156 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 757,582 GRT/841,755 DWT ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 110, container 3, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 14, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential (Republican) Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police | Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Internal Troops, Border Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $70.8 million (FY01) | $500 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY01) | 1.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 284,358 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
12,285,623 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 146,908 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
9,630,184 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 11,304 (2002 est.) | males:
390,823 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 24 August (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese |
noun:
Ukrainian(s) adjective: Ukrainian |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower | 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 (2002 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km | crude oil 4,000 km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998) |
Political parties and leaders | African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Congress for Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules Aristide Bourdes OGOULIGUENDE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU] | Communist Party of Ukraine [Petro SYMONENKO]; Fatherland (Motherland) All Ukrainian Party [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, chairperson]; Green Party of Ukraine or PZU [Vitaliy KONONOV, chairman]; Hromada [Pavlo LAZARENKO]; Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine or PRVU [Volodymyr RYBAK]; Peasant Party of Ukraine or SelPU [Serhiy DOVHAN]; People's Democratic Party [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman]; People's Movement of Ukraine or Rukh U [Hennadiy UDOVENKO, chairman]; Progressive Socialist Party [Nataliya VITRENKO]; Reforms and Order Party/Reforms-Congress [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Solidarity [leader NA]; Trudova Ukrayina/Working Ukraine [Igor SHAROV, chairman]; Ukrainian Popular Movement or Rukh K [Yuriy KOSTENKO, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]
note: and numerous smaller parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,233,353
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 2002 est.) |
48,760,474 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.97% (2002 est.) | -0.78% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil | Berdyans'k, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol' |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 208,000 (1997) | 45.05 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 649 km
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single-track (2001) |
total:
23,350 km broad gauge: 23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified) |
Religions | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% | 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 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable to be in service in 2002 |
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 | 39,000 (1998) | 9.45 million (April 1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 120,000 (2000) | 236,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus four low-powered repeaters) (2001) | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south | 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 | 3.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21% (1997 est.) | 4.3% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (December 1999) |
Waterways | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) | 4,499 km
note: (1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dnistr) (1990) |