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Compare Syria (2002) - Ukraine (2006)

Compare Syria (2002) z Ukraine (2006)

 Syria (2002)Ukraine (2006)
 SyriaUkraine
Administrative divisions 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus 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, Kyiv**, Kyiv, 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: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639)


15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 14.1% (male 3,377,868/female 3,203,738)


15-64 years: 69.3% (male 15,559,998/female 16,831,486)


65 years and over: 16.6% (male 2,635,651/female 5,102,075) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Airports 99 (2001) 499 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 24


over 3,047 m: 5


2,438 to 3,047 m: 16


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
total: 193


over 3,047 m: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 55


1,524 to 2,437 m: 27


914 to 1,523 m: 5


under 914 m: 93 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 68


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 55 (2002)
total: 306


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 11


914 to 1,523 m: 18


under 914 m: 274 (2006)
Area total: 185,180 sq km


land: 184,050 sq km


water: 1,130 sq km


note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
total: 603,700 sq km


land: 603,700 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than North Dakota slightly smaller than Texas
Background Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. Ukraine was the center of the first eastern 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 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. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006.
Birth rate 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 8.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $5 billion


expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
revenues: $23.59 billion


expenditures: $22.98 billion; note - this is the consolidated budget (January-September 2005)
Capital Damascus name: Kyiv (Kiev)


geographic coordinates: 50 26 N, 30 31 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus 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 193 km 2,782 km
Constitution 13 March 1973 adopted 28 June 1996
Country name conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic


conventional short form: Syria


local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah


local short form: Suriyah


former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
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 Syrian pound (SYP) -
Death rate 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $22 billion (2001 est.) $23.93 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF


embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus


mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus


telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342


FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678
chief of mission: Ambassador William B. TAYLOR


embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street, 04053 Kyiv


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 Rustum al-ZU'BI


chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313


FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
chief of mission: Ambassador Oleh V. SHAMSHUR


chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606


FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817


consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province 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 and parties have renewed discussions on demarcation; the dispute over the maritime boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and ongoing 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; in 2004 Ukraine and Romania took 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 Ukraine to the Black Sea
Economic aid - recipient $199 million (1997 est.) $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)
Economy - overview Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. 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 was ratified 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. A dispute with Russia over pricing led to a temporary gas cut-off; Ukraine concluded a deal with Russia in January 2006, which almost doubled the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas, and could cost the Ukrainian economy $1.4-2.2 billion and cause GDP growth to fall 3-4%. Ukrainian government officials eliminated most tax and customs privileges in a March 2005 budget law, bringing more economic activity out of Ukraine's large shadow economy, but more improvements are needed, including fighting corruption, developing capital markets, and improving the legislative framework for businesses. 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 growth was 2.4% in 2005, down from 12.4% in 2004. The current account surplus reached $2.2 billion in 2005. The privatization of the Kryvoryzhstal steelworks in late 2005 produced $4.8 billion in windfall revenue for the government. Some of the proceeds were used to finance the budget deficit, some to recapitalize two state banks, some to retire public debt, and the rest may be used to finance future deficits.
Electricity - consumption 17.671 billion kWh (2000) 176 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 650 million kWh (2000) 1 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 255 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - production 19.7 billion kWh (2000) 181.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 64%


hydro: 36%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m


highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water 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, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
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 Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% 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 census)
Exchange rates Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) hryvnia per US dollar - 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004), 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001)
Executive branch chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)


head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29%


note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000
chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)


head of government: Prime Minister Viktor YANUKOVYCH (since 4 August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister - Mykola AZAROV (since 5 August 2006)


cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers selected by the prime minister; the only exceptions are the foreign and defense ministers, who are chosen by the president


note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Secretariat helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second 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; under constitutional reforms that went into effect 1 January 2006, the majority in parliament takes the lead in naming the prime minister


election results: Viktor YUSHCHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YUSHCHENKO 51.99%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2%
Exports $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) 8,891 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports - partners Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) Russia 22.1%, Turkey 6%, Italy 5.6% (2005)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky
GDP purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 27%


industry: 23%


services: 50% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 18.7%


industry: 45.2%


services: 36.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2% (2001 est.) 2.6% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 35 00 N, 38 00 E 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Geography - note there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
Heliports 7 (2002) 10 (2006)
Highways total: 41,451 km


paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways)


unpaved: 31,876 km (1997)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 3.4%


highest 10%: 24.8% (2005)
Illicit drugs a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets 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 $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) 444,600 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) Russia 35.5%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.4%, China 5% (2005)
Independence 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 3.2% (2005 est.)
Industries petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
Infant mortality rate 32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 11.48 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 8.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.3% (2001 est.) 13.5% (2005 est.)
International organization participation AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) 22,080 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Labor force 4.7 million (1998 est.) 22.67 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) agriculture: 24%


industry: 32%


services: 44% (1996)
Land boundaries total: 2,253 km


border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 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: 25.96%


permanent crops: 4.08%


other: 69.96% (1998 est.)
arable land: 53.8%


permanent crops: 1.5%


other: 44.7% (2005)
Languages Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities
Legal system based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)


election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats
unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; members serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 26 March 2006 (next to be held March 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party/bloc in 2002 - Party of Regions 32.1%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 22.3%, Our Ukraine 13.9%, SPU 5.7%, CPU 3.7%; seats by party/bloc - Party of Regions 186, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 129, Our Ukraine 81, SPU 33, CPU 21
Life expectancy at birth total population: 69.08 years


male: 67.9 years


female: 70.32 years (2002 est.)
total population: 69.98 years


male: 64.71 years


female: 75.59 years (2006 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 70.8%


male: 85.7%


female: 55.8% (1997 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.7%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.6% (2003 est.)
Location Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
Map references Middle East Asia, Europe
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 41 NM


territorial sea: 35 NM
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT


ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.)
total: 202 ships (1000 GRT or over) 782,456 GRT/911,201 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 151, container 4, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 2


foreign-owned: 1 (Russia 1)


registered in other countries: 160 (Belize 7, Cambodia 17, Comoros 14, Cyprus 4, Dominica 2, Georgia 22, Liberia 16, Malta 24, Moldova 3, Mongolia 1, Panama 8, Russia 11, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12, Sierra Leone 4, Slovakia 8, unknown 4) (2006)
Military branches Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces (2002)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending $617.9 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.9% (FY98) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 19 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 200,859 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 17 April (1946) Independence Day, 24 August (1991); 22 January (1918), the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia) and the day the short-lived Western and Central Ukrainian republics united (1919), is now celebrated as Unity Day
Nationality noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
noun: Ukrainian(s)


adjective: Ukrainian
Natural hazards dust storms, sandstorms NA
Natural resources petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, 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.) -0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km gas 19,951 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Fatherland Party (Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; Lytyvn-led People's Bloc group [Ihor SHAROV]; Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) [Borys TARASYUK]; People's Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; People's Trust group [Anton KISSE]; PORA! (It's Time!) party [Vladyslav KASKIV]; Progressive Socialist Party [Natalya VITRENKO]; Reforms and Order Party [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Party of Regions [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Republican Party [Yuriy BOYKO]; Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o) [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; United Ukraine [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Vidrodzhennya (Revival) [Anton KISSE]
Political pressure groups and leaders conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence Committee of Voters of Ukraine [Ihor POPOV]
Population 17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)


note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.)
46,710,816 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line 15%-25% 29% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.5% (2002 est.) -0.6% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus -
Radio broadcast stations AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios 4.15 million (1997) -
Railways total: 2,750 km


standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge


note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001)
total: 22,473 km


broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2005)
Religions Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv 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: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female


total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


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


65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female


total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology


domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network


international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
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 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 1.313 million (1997) 12.142 million (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 17.214 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Terrain primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west 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 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.17 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 20% (2000 est.) 3.1% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is around 9-10% (2005 est.)
Waterways 870 km (minimal economic importance) 2,253 km (most on Dnieper River) (2006)
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