Ukraine (2001) | Belize (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 24 oblasti (singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkas'ka (Cherkasy), Chernihivs'ka (Chernihiv), Chernivets'ka (Chernivtsi), Dnipropetrovs'ka (Dnipropetrovs'k), Donets'ka (Donets'k), Ivano-Frankivs'ka (Ivano-Frankivs'k), Kharkivs'ka (Kharkiv), Khersons'ka (Kherson), Khmel'nyts'ka (Khmel'nyts'kyy), Kirovohrads'ka (Kirovohrad), Kyyiv**, Kyyivs'ka (Kiev), Luhans'ka (Luhans'k), L'vivs'ka (L'viv), Mykolayivs'ka (Mykolayiv), Odes'ka (Odesa), Poltavs'ka (Poltava), Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Rivnens'ka (Rivne), Sevastopol'**, Sums'ka (Sumy), Ternopil's'ka (Ternopil'), Vinnyts'ka (Vinnytsya), Volyns'ka (Luts'k), Zakarpats'ka (Uzhhorod), Zaporiz'ka (Zaporizhzhya), Zhytomyrs'ka (Zhytomyr); note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 's'ka' or 'z'ka,' the word Oblast' should be added to the place name
note: oblasts have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.3% (male 4,310,158; female 4,127,677) 15-64 years: 68.57% (male 15,965,079; female 17,468,035) 65 years and over: 14.13% (male 2,275,004; female 4,614,521) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.04% (male 54,876; female 52,780) 15-64 years: 54.43% (male 70,534; female 68,837) 65 years and over: 3.53% (male 4,403; female 4,632) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk | bananas, coca, citrus, sugarcane; lumber; fish, cultured shrimp |
Airports | 718 (2000 est.) | 44 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
114 over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 50 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
604 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 52 914 to 1,523 m: 45 under 914 m: 457 (2000 est.) |
total:
40 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 29 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
603,700 sq km land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | Richly endowed in natural resources, Ukraine has been fought over and subjugated for centuries; its 20th-century struggle for liberty is not yet complete. A short-lived independence from Russia (1917-1920) was followed by brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died, and World War II, in which German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 million more deaths. Although independence was attained in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, true freedom remains elusive as many of the former Soviet elite remain entrenched, stalling efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civic liberties. | Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increased urban crime. |
Birth rate | 9.31 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$8.3 billion expenditures: $8.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$157 million expenditures: $279 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Kiev (Kyyiv) | Belmopan |
Climate | 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 | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
Coastline | 2,782 km | 386 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1996 | 21 September 1981 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
Currency | hryvnia (UAH) | Belizean dollar (BZD) |
Death rate | 16.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.3 billion (2000) | $338 million (1998) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Carlos PASCUAL embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsubynskoho, 254053 Kiev 53 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Carolyn CURIEL embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane and Hutson Street, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Unit 7401, APO AA 34025 telephone: [501] (2) 77161 FAX: [501] (2) 30802 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Konstantin Ivanovych HRYSHCHENKO chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation | Guatemala periodically asserts claims to territory in southern Belize; to deter cross-border squatting, both states in 2000 agreed to a "line of adjacency" based on the de facto boundary, which is not recognized by Guatemala |
Economic aid - recipient | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) | $NA |
Economy - overview | After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas, to meet some 85% of its annual energy requirements. Shortly after independence in late 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output in 1992-99 fell to less than 40% the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Now in his second term, President KUCHMA has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies and streamline the regulation process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs and protect ownership rights, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Reforms in the more politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatization are still lagging. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and have threatened to withdraw financial support. GDP in 2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6% - the first growth since independence - and industrial production grew 12.9%. As the capacity for further export-based economic expansion diminishes, GDP growth in 2001 is likely to decline to around 3%. | The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming greater importance. Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the banana industry is the country's largest employer. The government's tough austerity program in 1997 resulted in an economic slowdown that continued in 1998. The trade deficit has been growing, mostly as a result of low export prices for sugar and bananas. The tourist and construction sectors strengthened in early 1999, supporting growth of 6% in 1999 and 4% in 2000. Aided by international donors, the government's key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty. |
Electricity - consumption | 146.675 billion kWh (1999) | 172.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.3 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 157.823 billion kWh (1999) | 185 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
47.67% hydro: 9.65% nuclear: 42.67% other: 0.01% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
56.76% hydro: 43.24% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%, other 4% | mestizo 43.7%, Creole 29.8%, Maya 10%, Garifuna 6.2%, other 10.3% |
Exchange rates | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.4331 (January 2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997), 1.8295 (1996) | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Anatoliy KINAKH (since 29 May 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Oleh DUBYNA (since 29 May 2001) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body created by President KUCHMA in September 1994 that includes chairmen of the Kyyiv (Kiev) and Sevastopol' municipalities and chairmen of the oblasti elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of vote - Leonid KUCHMA 57.7%, Petro SYMONENKO 38.8% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG (since 17 November 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Said MUSA (since 27 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; governor general appoints the member of the House of Representatives who is leader of the majority party to be prime minister |
Exports | $14.6 billion (2000 est.) | $235.7 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, machinery and transport equipment, food products | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
Exports - partners | Russia 24%, Europe 30%, US 5% (2000 est.) | US 42%, UK 33%, EU 12%, Caricom 4.8%, Canada 2%, Mexico 1% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky | blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $189.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $790 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
12% industry: 26% services: 62% (1998 est.) |
agriculture:
18% industry: 24% services: 58% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 00 N, 32 00 E | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
Geography - note | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
273,700 km paved: 236,400 km (including 1,770 km of expressways); note - (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 37,300 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
total:
2,872 km paved: 488 km unpaved: 2,384 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 26.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey, and to Europe and Russia; drug-related money laundering a minor, but growing, problem | minor transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; minor money-laundering center |
Imports | $15 billion (2000 est.) | $413 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals | machinery and transportation equipment, manufactured goods; food, beverages, tobacco; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Russia 42%, Europe 29%, US 3% (2000 est.) | US 58%, Mexico 12%, UK 5% EU 5%, Central America 5%, Caricom 4% (1998) |
Independence | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12.9% (2000 est.) | 4.6% (1999) |
Industries | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 21.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 25.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 25.8% (2000 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 32 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 26,050 sq km (1993 est.) | 20 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 22.8 million (yearend 1997) | 71,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) | agriculture 38%, industry 32%, services 30% (1994) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,558 km border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km |
total:
516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
Land use | arable land:
58% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 18% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 84% other: 3% (2000 est.) |
Languages | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine's new election law, half of the Supreme Council's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 4% or more of the national electoral vote; the other 225 members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party (for parties clearing 4% hurdle on 29 March 1998) - Communist Party 24.7%, Rukh (combined) 9.4%, SPU/SelPU 8.6%, PZU 5.3%, People's Democratic Party 5.0%, Hromada Party 4.7%, Progressive Socialist Party 4.0%, United Social Democratic Party 4.0%; seats by party (as of 25 February 2000) - Communist Party 115, PRVU 36, Fatherland Party 35, United Social Democratic Party 34, People's Democratic Party 27, Trudova Ukrayina Party 27, Rukh K 27, left-center 23, PZU 18, Rukh U 17, SelPU 15, Hromada Party 14, Reforms-Congress 12, independents 14, unaffiliated 31, vacant 5 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (eight members, five appointed on the advice of the prime minister, two on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one by the governor general; members are appointed for five-year terms); and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 27 August 1998 (next to be held by NA August 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 59.2%, UDP 40.8%; seats by party - PUP 26, UDP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.15 years male: 60.62 years female: 71.96 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
71.19 years male: 68.91 years female: 73.57 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 100% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.3% male: 70.3% female: 70.3% (1991 est.) note: other sources list the literacy rate as high as 75% |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM in the north, 3 NM in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 NM; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala |
Merchant marine | total:
156 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 757,582 GRT/841,755 DWT ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 110, container 3, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 14, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
402 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,575,851 GRT/2,241,731 DWT ships by type: bulk 27, cargo 265, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, container 14, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 56, refrigerated cargo 18, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cuba 1, Singapore 1, US 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Internal Troops, Border Troops | Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $500 million (FY99) | $17 million (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY99) | 2.4% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
12,285,623 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
62,698 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
9,630,184 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
37,174 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
390,823 (2001 est.) |
males:
2,847 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 August (1991) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
Nationality | noun:
Ukrainian(s) adjective: Ukrainian |
noun:
Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean |
Natural hazards | NA | frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,000 km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Ukraine [Petro SYMONENKO]; Fatherland (Motherland) All Ukrainian Party [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, chairperson]; Green Party of Ukraine or PZU [Vitaliy KONONOV, chairman]; Hromada [Pavlo LAZARENKO]; Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine or PRVU [Volodymyr RYBAK]; Peasant Party of Ukraine or SelPU [Serhiy DOVHAN]; People's Democratic Party [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman]; People's Movement of Ukraine or Rukh U [Hennadiy UDOVENKO, chairman]; Progressive Socialist Party [Nataliya VITRENKO]; Reforms and Order Party/Reforms-Congress [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Solidarity [leader NA]; Trudova Ukrayina/Working Ukraine [Igor SHAROV, chairman]; Ukrainian Popular Movement or Rukh K [Yuriy KOSTENKO, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]
note: and numerous smaller parties |
People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean BARROW, Doug SINGH] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Diane HAYLOCK]; United Worker's Front |
Population | 48,760,474 (July 2001 est.) | 256,062 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1999 est.) | 33% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.78% (2001 est.) | 2.7% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berdyans'k, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol' | Belize City, Big Creek, Corozol, Punta Gorda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 45.05 million (1997) | 133,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
23,350 km broad gauge: 23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified) |
0 km |
Religions | Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish | Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
Ukraine's telecommunication development plan, running through 2005, emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is now rising slowly and the domestic trunk system is being improved; the mobile cellular telephone system is expanding at a high rate international: two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project which connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems |
general assessment:
above-average system domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9.45 million (April 1999) | 31,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,000 (1998) | 3,023 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | 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 | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.05 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.3% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (December 1999) | 12.8% (1999) |
Waterways | 4,499 km
note: (1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dnistr) (1990) |
825 km (river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable) |