Ukraine (2003) | Kiribati (2006) | |
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 |
3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.3% (male 4,004,948; female 3,832,931)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,779,735; female 17,225,103) 65 years and over: 15% (male 2,419,612; female 4,793,110) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.6% (male 20,608/female 20,060)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 30,216/female 31,004) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,517/female 2,027) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 790 (2002) | 19 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 182
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 31 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 81 (2002) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 608
over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 466 (2002) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Area | total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-1920), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although 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. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 9.89 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 30.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $10.2 billion
expenditures: $11.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05) |
Capital | Kiev (Kyyiv) | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 2,782 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1996 | 12 July 1979 |
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: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | hryvnia (UAH) | - |
Death rate | 16.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $14.2 billion (2002) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos E. PASCUAL
embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynskyi Street, Kiev 01901 mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850 telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sergiy KORSUNSKYI
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 349-2920 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal cross-border activities; land delimitation of boundary with Russia is complete, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved; difficulties in the Transnistria region of Moldova complicate border crossing and customs, facilitating smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities; has not resolved Romanian claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) | $16.7 million largely from UK and Japan (2004) |
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 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. 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. GDP in 2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6% - the first growth since independence - and industrial production grew 12.9%. The economy continued to expand in 2001 as real GDP rose 9% and industrial output grew by over 14%. Growth of 4.1% in 2002 was more moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed world. In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence. Growth was a sturdy 6% in 2003 despite a loss of mementum in needed economic reforms. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals about 20% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund. |
Electricity - consumption | 152.4 billion kWh (2001) | 11.16 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 800 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 164.7 billion kWh (2001) | 12 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48.6%
hydro: 7.9% nuclear: 43.5% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 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 | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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) | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.33 (2002), 5.37 (2001), 5.44 (2000), 4.13 (1999), 2.45 (1998) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) |
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 Mykola AZAROV (since 26 November 2002) 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 Kiev (Kyyiv) 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 October 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 Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO cabinet: 12-member cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Russia 18.6%, Italy 7.4%, Turkey 5.6%, Germany 4.1%, China 4.1% (2002) | US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $218 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 23%
industry: 42% services: 35% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2002 est.) | 0.3% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 00 N, 32 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total: 169,491 km
paved: 163,898 km unpaved: 5,593 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.2% (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 | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Russia 32.3%, Germany 11.7%, Turkmenistan 7.4%, Poland 6%, Italy 4% (2002) | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2005) |
Independence | 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2002 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 47.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1.2% (2002 est.) | 0.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), 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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 260 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 22.8 million (yearend 1997) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) | 2.70213%, 32%, 65.3% |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 57.1%
permanent crops: 1.73% other: 41.17% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Languages | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts | NA |
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 |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 appointed to represent Banaba, and 1 other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.5 years
male: 61.1 years female: 72.17 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 62.08 years
male: 59.06 years female: 65.24 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Asia, Europe | Oceania |
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: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 131 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 633,932 GRT/640,743 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 89, container 5, liquefied gas 2, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 10, railcar carrier 2, short-sea passenger 1 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.) |
total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,749 GRT/3,911 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $617.9 million (FY02) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,236,811 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 9,597,172 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 389,499 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 August (1991); the date of 22 January (1918), the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia), is now celebrated as Unity Day | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 20,069 km; oil 4,435 km; refined products 4,098 km (2003) | - |
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 [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; People's Choice [Mykola HAPOCHKA]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman]; People's Power [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Regions of Ukraine [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; 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 |
Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 48,055,439 (July 2003 est.) | 105,432 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 29% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.69% (2003 est.) | 2.24% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Railways | total: 22,473 km
broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2002) |
- |
Religions | Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 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: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati (Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9.45 million (April 1999) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,000 (1998) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
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 | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.16 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2002) | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | 4,499 km
note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dniester (Dnister) (1990) |
5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) |