Malta (2001) | Ukraine (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (administered directly from Valletta) | 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:
19.98% (male 40,791; female 38,062) 15-64 years: 67.49% (male 133,914; female 132,402) 65 years and over: 12.53% (male 20,643; female 28,771) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.6% (male 3,783,725/female 3,619,754)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 15,619,989/female 16,992,628) 65 years and over: 15.6% (male 2,497,851/female 4,911,389) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers; pork, milk, poultry, eggs | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 656 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 482
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 428 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
316 sq km land: 316 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Great Britain formally acquired possession of Malta in 1814. The island staunchly supported the UK through both World Wars and remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964. A decade later Malta became a republic. Over the last 15 years, the island has become a major freight transshipment point, financial center, and tourist destination. It is an official candidate for EU membership. | 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 (1917-20), 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 authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity. |
Birth rate | 12.75 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $265.4 million (1999) |
revenues: $13.57 billion
expenditures: $12.26 billion, including capital expenditures of NA; note - these estimates probably do not include the government's doubling of pensions in September of 2004 (2004 est.) |
Capital | Valletta | Kiev (Kyyiv) |
Climate | Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry 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 | 196.8 km (does not include 56.01 km for the island of Gozo) | 2,782 km |
Constitution | 1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974 | adopted 28 June 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Malta conventional short form: Malta local long form: Repubblika ta' Malta local short form: Malta |
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 | Maltese lira (MTL) | - |
Death rate | 7.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $130 million (1997) | $16.37 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador George SALIBA embassy: 3rd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, Malta VLT 01 mailing address: P. O. Box 535, Valletta, Malta, CMR 01 telephone: [356] 235960 through 235965 FAX: [356] 243229 |
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 George SALIBA chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612 FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470 consulate(s): New York |
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, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified due to unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete but the parties have agreed to defer demarcation; maritime boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Moldova and Ukraine have established joint customs posts to monitor transit through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region which remains under OSCE supervision; Ukraine and Romania have taken their dispute over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through the Ukraine to the Black Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) |
Economy - overview | Major resources are limestone, a favorable geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited freshwater supplies, and has no domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Malta is privatizing state-controlled firms and liberalizing markets in order to prepare for membership in the European Union. However, the island is divided politically over the question of joining the EU. The sizable budget deficit remains a key concern. | 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. Ukrainian government officials have taken some steps to reform the country's Byzantine tax code, such as the implementation of lower tax rates aimed at bringing more economic activity out of Ukraine's large shadow economy, but more improvements are needed, including closing tax loopholes and eliminating tax privileges and exemptions. 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 | 1.534 billion kWh (1999) | 132 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.2 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.65 billion kWh (1999) | 180 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Ta'Dmejrek 253 m (near Dingli) |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination | 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:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock) | 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 census) |
Exchange rates | Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.4370 (January 2001), 0.4376 (2000), 0.3994 (1999), 0.3885 (1998), 0.3857 (1997), 0.3604 (1996) | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3192 (2004), 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Guido DE MARCO (since 4 April 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Eddie FENECH ADAMI (since 6 September 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence GONZE (since 4 April 1999) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term; election last held NA April 1999 (next to be held by NA April 2004); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president for a five-year term; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: Guido DE MARCO elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote - 54% |
chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Yuriy YEKHANUROV (since 22 September 2005); First Deputy Prime Minister - Stanislav STASHEVSKYY (since 27 September 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 | $2 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products |
Exports - partners | US 21.4%, France 15.2%, Germany 12.6%, UK 9.3%, Italy 4.9% (1999) | Russia 18%, Germany 5.8%, Turkey 5.7%, Italy 5%, US 4.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal vertical bands of white (hoist side) and red; in the upper hoist-side corner is a representation of the Saint George Cross, edged in red | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.8% industry: 25.5% services: 71.7% (1999) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 45.1% services: 36.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2000 est.) | 12% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 35 50 N, 14 35 E | 49 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe |
Heliports | - | 8 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
1,742 km paved: 1,677 km unpaved: 65 km (1997) |
total: 169,679 km
paved: 164,249 km unpaved: 5,430 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.2% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe | 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 | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods; food, drink, and tobacco | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 19.1%, Italy 16.7%, UK 10.9%, Germany 10.0%, US 8.5% (1999) | Russia 41.8%, Germany 9.6%, Turkmenistan 6.7% (2004) |
Independence | 21 September 1964 (from UK) | 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 16.5% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism; electronics, ship building and repair, construction; food and beverages, textiles, footwear, clothing, tobacco | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) |
Infant mortality rate | 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 20.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 12% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | C, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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, WTO (observer), ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 11.45 sq km (2000 est.) | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court |
Labor force | 145,901 (1999) | 21.11 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 24%, services 71%, agriculture 5% (1999 est.) | agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996) |
Land boundaries | 0 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:
32% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 4% other: 61% (2000 est.) |
arable land: 56.21%
permanent crops: 1.61% other: 42.18% (2001) |
Languages | Maltese (official), English (official) | Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%; small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities |
Legal system | based on English common law and Roman civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 September 1998 (next to be held by September 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - PN 51.8%, MLP 46.9%, AD 1.2%; seats by party - PN 35, MLP 30 |
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 five-year terms beginning with the next election in 2006)
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:
78.1 years male: 75.64 years female: 80.79 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.68 years
male: 64.39 years female: 75.31 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 10 and over can read and write total population: 88.76% male: 86.91% female: 89.55% (1995 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east |
Map references | Europe | Asia, Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 25 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total:
1,414 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,191,090 GRT/46,773,603 DWT ships by type: bulk 443, cargo 394, chemical tanker 48, combination bulk 12, combination ore/oil 14, container 69, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 296, refrigerated cargo 37, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 18 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bermuda 1, Belgium 1, Bangladesh 2, Bulgaria 11, China 7, Costa Rica 1, Cuba 2, Cyprus 15, Denmark 1, Estonia 2, Finland 1, Germany 23, Greece 258, Hong Kong 3, Croatia 9, Hungary 1, India 2, Israel 2, Italy 17, South Korea 1, Lebanon 2, Latvia 2, Lithuania 1, Monaco 14, Nigeria 1, Netherlands 10, Norway 31, Poland 8, Romania 3, Russia 39, Singapore 6, Spain 3, Sweden 3, Syria 1, Switzerland 25, UAE 2, Turkey 24, UK 8, Ukraine 9, US 9, Venezuela 1, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 201 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 675,904 GRT/709,802 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 148, container 4, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Russia 1) registered in other countries: 113 (2005) |
Military branches | Armed Forces (including land forces, an air squadron, a maritime squadron, and the Revenue Security Corps), Maltese Police Force | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces (2002) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $201 million (FY98) | $617.9 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.5% (FY98) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
98,953 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
78,783 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1964) | 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:
Maltese (singular and plural) adjective: Maltese |
noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | limestone, salt, arable land | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 | Alternativa Demokratika/Alliance for Social Justice or AD [Harry VASSALLO]; Malta Labor Party or MLP [Alfred SANT]; Nationalist Party or PN [Edward FENECH ADAMI] | 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 | 394,583 (July 2001 est.) | 47,425,336 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 29% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.74% (2001 est.) | -0.63% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Marsaxlokk, Valletta | Feodosiya, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Yuzhnyy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 255,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 22,473 km
broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 91% | Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Orthodox (no particular jurisdiction) 16%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38% (2004 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
automatic system satisfies normal requirements domestic: submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands international: 2 submarine cables; 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 | 187,000 (1997) | 10,833,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,691 (1997) | 4.2 million (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs | 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 | 1.92 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.4 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (3rd Quarter 2000) | 3.5% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is around 9-10 percent (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2004) |