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Compare Lesotho (2006) - Ukraine (2004)

Compare Lesotho (2006) z Ukraine (2004)

 Lesotho (2006)Ukraine (2004)
 LesothoUkraine
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Dnipropetrovs'k, Donets'k, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmel'nyts'kyy, Kirovohrad, Kiev (Kyyiv)**, Kyyiv, Luhans'k, L'viv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol'**, Sumy, Ternopil', Vinnytsya, Volyn' (Luts'k), Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Age structure 0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527)


15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846)


65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 15.9% (male 3,883,485; female 3,715,668)


15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,692,388; female 17,096,611)


65 years and over: 15.4% (male 2,472,023; female 4,871,904) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Airports 28 (2006) 702 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2006)
total: 174


over 3,047 m: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 57


1,524 to 2,437 m: 30


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 70 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 21 (2006)
total: 528


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 17


914 to 1,523 m: 35


under 914 m: 469 (2003 est.)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 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 Maryland slightly smaller than Texas
Background Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan 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 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 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorites to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity.
Birth rate 24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 10.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $738.5 million


expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
revenues: $14.1 billion


expenditures: $14.19 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital name: Maseru


geographic coordinates: 29 28 S, 27 30 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Kiev (Kyyiv)
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers 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 0 km (landlocked) 2,782 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 adopted 28 June 1996
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


local short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
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 28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $735 million (2002) $16.13 billion (2003)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY


embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)


mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho


telephone: [266] 22 312666


FAX: [266] 22 310116
chief of mission: Ambassador John E. HERBST


embassy: 10 Yuriia Kotsiubynskoho Street, 04053 Kiev


mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850


telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000


FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI


chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536


FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
chief of mission: Ambassador Mykhailo B. REZNIK


chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 349-2920


FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817


consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York
Disputes - international none 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified due to unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete but boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Ukraine protests Russia's construction of a causeway in the direction of Ukrainian-administered Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait; difficulties with Moldova's Transnistria region complicate controlling border crossing and customs regimes despite concordance on the 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance; has not resolved Romanian claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years; ongoing dispute between Ukraine and Romania over the Danube River delta
Economic aid - donor ODA, $4.4 million -
Economic aid - recipient $41.5 million (2000) $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)
Economy - overview Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. 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 December 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. 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. President KUCHMA had 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. 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 of 4.6% in 2002 was more moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed world. In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence. Growth was a sturdy 9.3% in 2003 and a remarkable 12% in 2004, despite a loss of momentum in needed economic reforms.
Electricity - consumption 363.5 million kWh (2003) 152.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) 800 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) 164.7 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m


highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Environment - current issues population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, 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 maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile


head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)


cabinet: Cabinet


elections: none - according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution, which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age
chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)


head of government: Prime Minister Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (since 4 February 2005); First Deputy Prime Minister - Anatoliy KINAKH (since 4 February 2005)


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 former-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


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; note - a special repeat runoff presidential election between Viktor YUSHCHENKO and Viktor YANUKOVYCH took place on 26 December 2004 after the earlier 21 November 2004 contest - won by Mr. YANUKOVYCH - was invalidated by the Ukrainian Supreme Court because of widespread and significant violations; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council


election results: Viktor YUSHCHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YUSHCHENKO 51.99%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2%
Exports NA bbl/day NA (2001)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners Hong Kong 43.6%, China 35.4%, Germany 8.4% (2005) Russia 17.8%, Germany 5.9%, Italy 5.3%, China 4.1% (2003)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky
GDP - purchasing power parity - $260.4 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 16.3%


industry: 44.3%


services: 39.4% (2005 est.)
agriculture: 18.8%


industry: 44.8%


services: 36.4% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1.2% (2005 est.) 9.4% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
Heliports - 8 (2003 est.)
Highways - total: 169,491 km


paved: 163,898 km


unpaved: 5,593 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 0.9%


highest 10%: 43.4%
lowest 10%: 3.7%


highest 10%: 23.2% (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; Ukraine has improved anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in February 2004; Ukraine's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF
Imports NA bbl/day NA (2001)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners US 84%, Belgium 12.8%, Canada 2.4% (2005) Russia 35.9%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.2% (2003)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999) 15.8% (2003 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Infant mortality rate total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
total: 20.61 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.87 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.7% (2005 est.) 5.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Irrigated land 30 sq km (2003) 24,540 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Labor force 838,000 (2000) 21.29 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa


industry and services: 14%
agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996)
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 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: 10.87%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 89% (2005)
arable land: 56.21%


permanent crops: 1.61%


other: 42.18% (2001)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Legal system based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election


elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18
unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under recent amendments to Ukraine's election law, the Rada's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; members serve four-year terms)


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


election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 24%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, other 24%; seats by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 101, Regions of Ukraine 61, CPU 59, Working Ukraine 14, United Social Democratic Party 33, Agrarian Party 22, SPU 20, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 19, United Ukraine 19, People's Democratic Party-Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 16, Center Group 15, Democratic Initiatives 14, unaffiliated 57 (December 2004)


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; these factions have since undergone a number of changes
Life expectancy at birth total population: 34.4 years


male: 35.55 years


female: 33.21 years (2006 est.)
total population: 66.68 years


male: 61.35 years


female: 72.27 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 84.8%


male: 74.5%


female: 94.5% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.7%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.6% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
Map references Africa Asia, Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine - total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 675,904 GRT/709,802 DWT


by type: bulk 7, cargo 92, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 10, rail car carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1


foreign-owned: Belize 2, Canada 1, Cyprus 1, Hungary 2, Italy 1, Russia 4, Turkey 3


registered in other countries: 87 (2004 est.)
Military - note the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs -
Military branches Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) Troops, Border Troops
Military expenditures - dollar figure $41.1 million (2005 est.) $617.9 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.1% (2005 est.) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 12,196,319 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 9,565,088 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 386,945 (2004 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 24 August (1991); the date of 22 January (1918), the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia), is now celebrated as Unity Day
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Ukrainian(s)


adjective: Ukrainian
Natural hazards periodic droughts NA
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land
Net migration rate -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
People - note - the sex trafficking of Ukrainian women is a serious problem that has only recently been addressed
Pipelines - gas 20,069 km; oil 4,540 km; refined products 4,169 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU] Agrarian Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH]; Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Our Ukraine bloc (comprised of several parties the most prominent of which are Rukh, the Ukrainian People's Party, Reforms and Order, and Solidarity) [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO]; Regions of Ukraine [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; Working Ukraine [Serhiy TYHYPKO]; Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]


note: as well as numerous smaller parties; United Ukraine and Center Group are not actual political parties, but rather deputy groups (factions not based on a party)
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 2,022,331


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 2006 est.)
47,732,079 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999) 29% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate -0.46% (2006 est.) -0.66% (2004 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 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways - total: 22,473 km


broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2003)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38% (2004 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female


total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: rudimentary system


domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing


international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
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: country code - 380; 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 that 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 48,000 (2005) 10,833,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 245,100 (2005) 4.2 million (2002)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and 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 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) 1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2002) 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2003)
Waterways - 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2004)
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