Kuwait (2006) | Ukraine (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir | 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: 26.9% (male 331,768/female 319,895)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 1,085,721/female 613,746) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 42,460/female 24,803) (2006 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 | practically no crops; fish | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk |
Airports | 7 (2006) | 718 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
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: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. | 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 | 21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $47.21 billion
expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $10.2 billion
expenditures: $11.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Kuwait
geographic coordinates: 29 20 N, 47 59 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kiev (Kyyiv) |
Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | 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 | 499 km | 2,782 km |
Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | adopted 28 June 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
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 | - | hryvnia (UAH) |
Death rate | 2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.12 billion (2005 est.) | $11.8 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON
embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 259-1001 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
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 SALIM Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
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 | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf | 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 | $NA (2001) | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. | 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 | 35.52 billion kWh (2003) | 151.72 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 400 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 38.19 billion kWh (2003) | 163.57 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 50%
hydro: 7% nuclear: 43% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; 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, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
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 | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | 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 | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001) | 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: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 7 February 2006) First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Ismail al-SHATTI (since 10 July 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir |
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 | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) | $17.3 billion (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, machinery and transport equipment, food products |
Exports - partners | Japan 19.6%, South Korea 15.3%, US 11.8%, Taiwan 11%, Singapore 9.5%, Netherlands 4.7% (2005) | Russia 22.6%, Turkey 6.2%, Italy 5.1%, Germany (2001 est.) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $205 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 47.9% services: 51.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 40% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2005 est.) | 9% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 49 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe |
Heliports | 5 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | 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 | - | 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 bbl/day | $17.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 14%, Germany 10.7%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, UK 5.6%, France 4.8%, China 4.5% (2005) | Russia 36.9%, Turkmenistan 10.5%, Germany 8.7%, US (2001 est.) |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 13.1% (2005 est.) | 14.2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
21.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (2005 est.) | 12% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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) | - | 260 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 130 sq km (2003) | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court |
Labor force | 1.67 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2005 est.) |
22.8 million (yearend 1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 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: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005) |
arable land: 57.1%
permanent crops: 1.73% other: 41.17% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian |
Legal system | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
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: 77.2 years
male: 76.13 years female: 78.31 years (2006 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: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 100% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia |
Map references | Middle East | Asia, Europe |
Maritime claims | 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: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,424,983 GRT/3,996,755 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21 registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 5, UAE 8) (2006) |
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 | Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2006) | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.01 billion (2005 est.) | $500 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (2005 est.) | 1.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 12,263,178 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 9,616,864 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 390,823 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | Independence Day, 24 August (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
Natural hazards | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006) | crude oil 4,000 km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998) |
Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | 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 | a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, and secular liberals | NA |
Population | 2,418,393
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
48,396,470 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 29% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.52%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.) |
-0.72% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 45.05 million (1997) |
Railways | - | 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 | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2006 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 | adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
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 | 510,300 (2005) | 9.45 million (April 1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.38 million (2005) | 236,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) |
Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | 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 | 2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | 3.6% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (November 2001) |
Waterways | - | 4,499 km
note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dniester (Dnister) (1990) |