Ukraine (2002) | Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2005) | |
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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 |
10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.8% (male 4,147,344; female 3,970,343)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,881,821; female 17,366,172) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 2,341,885; female 4,688,905) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 48.1% (male 14,513,779/female 14,396,952)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 14,579,101/female 15,121,297) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 597,776/female 876,099) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products |
Airports | 718 (2001) | 230 (2004 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 (2002) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 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 (2002) |
total: 206
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 92 under 914 m: 97 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
Background | Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising agaist the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-1920), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 million more deaths. Although independence was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, true freedom remains elusive as many of the former Soviet elite remain entrenched, stalling efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. | Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several subsequent sham elections as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by an insurrection backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; Joseph KABILA remains as president and is joined by four vice presidents representing the former government, former rebel groups, and the political opposition. |
Birth rate | 9.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 44.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $10.2 billion
expenditures: $11.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Kiev (Kyyiv) | Kinshasa |
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; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October |
Coastline | 2,782 km | 37 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1996 | new constitution adopted 17 July 2003 |
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: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DROC |
Currency | hryvnia (UAH) | - |
Death rate | 16.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $11.8 billion (2001) | $11.6 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos PASCUAL
embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynskyi Street, Kiev 01901 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS
embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 43467 |
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 Faida MITIFU
chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Wasington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609 |
Disputes - international | Ukraine and Romania have yet to resolve claims over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and delimitation of Black Sea maritime boundary, despite 1997 bilateral treaty to find a solution in two years and numerous talks; Russia and Ukraine have successfully delimited land boundary in 2001, but disagree on delimitation of maritime boundary in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea; Moldovan difficulties with break-away Transnistria region inhibit establishment of a joint customs regime with Ukraine to curtail smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities | heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to end conflict but unchecked tribal, rebel, and militia fighting continues unabated in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drawing in the neighboring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has maintained over 14,000 peacekeepers in the region since 1999; thousands of Ituri refugees from the Congo continue to flee the fighting primarily into Uganda; 90,000 Angolan refugees were repatriated by 2004 with the remainder in the Democratic Republic of the Congo expected to return in 2005; in 2005, DROC and Rwanda established a border verification mechanism to address accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels and the DROC providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means and bases to attack Rwandan forces; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area |
Economic aid - recipient | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) (1995) | $195.3 million (1995) |
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 by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Now in his second term, President KUCHMA has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Reforms in the more politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatization are still lagging. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and have threatened to withdraw financial support. GDP in 2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6% - the first growth since independence - and industrial production grew 12.9%. The economy continued to expand in 2001 as real GDP rose 9% and industrial output grew by over 14%. Growth was undergirded by strong domestic demand and growing consumer and investor confidence. | The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of perhaps 3.5 million people from war, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. Several IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data. Economic stability, aided by international donors, improved in 2003-04, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of openness in government policy continues to hamper growth. In 2005, renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most exports, could boost Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 151.72 billion kWh (2000) | 4.168 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2000) | 1.5 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 8 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 163.57 billion kWh (2000) | 6.086 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 50%
hydro: 7% nuclear: 43% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 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 | poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage |
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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | 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) | over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population |
Exchange rates | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3126 (January 2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997) | Congolese francs per US dollar - 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003), 346.49 (2002), 206.62 (2001), 21.82 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Viktor YANUKOVYCH (since 21 November 2002), First Deputy Prime Minister Oleh DUBYNA (since 29 May 2001) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body created by President KUCHMA in September 1994 that includes chairmen of the Kyyiv (Kiev) and Sevastopol' municipalities and chairmen of the oblasti elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of vote - Leonid KUCHMA 57.7%, Petro SYMONENKO 38.8% |
chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president elections: prior to the overthrow of MOBUTU Sese Seko, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, there was also a prime minister who was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - a Transitional Government is drafting a new constitution with free elections scheduled to be held in NA 2005 election results: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001, negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with free elections scheduled to be held in NA 2005 |
Exports | $17.3 billion (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, machinery and transport equipment, food products | diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt |
Exports - partners | Russia 22.6%, Turkey 6.2%, Italy 5.1%, Germany (2001 est.) | Belgium 47.8%, Finland 21%, US 10.9%, China 7.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky | light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $205 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13%
industry: 40% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 55%
industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9% (2001 est.) | 7.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 00 N, 32 00 E | 0 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe | straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands |
Highways | total: 273,700 km
paved: 236,400 km (including 1,770 km of expressways and a substantial amount of all-weather roads with gravel surfaces) unpaved: 37,300 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 23% (1999) |
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 the West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey to Europe and Russia; drug-related money laundering a minor, but growing, problem; lax anti-money-laundering regime | illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $17.1 billion (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels |
Imports - partners | Russia 36.9%, Turkmenistan 10.5%, Germany 8.7%, US (2001 est.) | South Africa 18.5%, Belgium 15.5%, France 10.8%, Kenya 6.3%, US 6%, Germany 5.8% (2004) |
Independence | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14.2% (2001 est.) | NA |
Industries | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 21.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 92.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 101.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 84.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12% (2001 est.) | 14% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 260 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) | 110 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 22.8 million (yearend 1997) | 14.51 million (1993 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) (1996) | NA |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km |
Land use | arable land: 57.1%
permanent crops: 1.73% other: 41.17% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.96%
permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (2001) |
Languages | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts | based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine's new election law, 225 of the Supreme Council's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 4% or more of the national electoral vote; the other 225 members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Our Ukraine 24%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, other 24%; seats by party - Our Ukraine 102, CPU 60, Regions of Ukraine 42, Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 41, United Social Democratic Party 39, Democratic Initiatives 22, SPU 20, People's Power 19, European Choice 18, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 18, Agrarian Party 17, People's Democratic Party 16, People's Choice 15, others 21 note: following the election, United Ukraine splintered into the Agrarian Party, European Choice, People's Choice, People's Democratic Party, Regions of Ukraine, and Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs |
a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000
elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President Laurent Desire KABILA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.33 years
male: 60.86 years female: 72.06 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 51.1 years
male: 49.68 years female: 52.56 years (2005 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 French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia | Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
Map references | Asia, Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors |
Merchant marine | total: 138 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 669,303 GRT/707,857 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 100, container 3, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 12, railcar carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Greece 1, Panama 1, Russia 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 (2002 est.) |
registered in other countries: 1 |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $500 million (FY99) | $93.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY99) | 1.5% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,263,178 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 9,616,864 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 390,823 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 August (1991) | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land | cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber |
Net migration rate | -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,000 km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998) | gas 54 km; oil 71 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party [Kateryna VASHCHUK]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH]; European Choice [Volodymyr Stasyuk]; Our Ukraine [Vikto YUSHCHENKO]; People's Choice [Mykola HAPOCHKA]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman]; People's Power [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Regions of Ukraine [Rayisa BOHATYRYOVA]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party [Leonid KRAVCHUK]; Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Ihor SHAROV]; Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc [Yuliya Tymoshenko]
note: and numerous smaller parties |
Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity or FONUS [Joseph OLENGHANKOY]; National Congolese Lumumbist Movement or MNC [Francois LUMUMBA]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR (three factions: MPR-Fait Prive [Catherine NZUZI wa Mbombo]; MPR/Vunduawe [Felix VUNDUAWE]; MPR/Mananga [MANANGA Dintoka Mpholo]); Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI (two factions: UFERI [Lokambo OMOKOKO]; UFERI/OR [Adolph Kishwe MAYA]) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 48,396,470 (July 2002 est.) | 60,085,804
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 29% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.72% (2002 est.) | 2.98% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy | Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 45.05 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 22,510 km
broad gauge: 21,951 km 1.524-m gauge (8,927 km electrified) standard gauge: 49 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 510 km 0.750-m gauge note: these data do not include railroads dedicated to serving industry and not in common carrier service (2001) |
total: 5,138 km
narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% |
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: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: poor
domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9.45 million (April 1999) | 10,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,000 (1998) | 1 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) | 4 (2001) |
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 | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.54 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (November 2001) | NA (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 4,499 km
note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dniester (Dnister) (1990) |
15,000 km (navigation on the Congo curtailed by fighting) (2004) |