Ukraine (2004) | Liberia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Dnipropetrovs'k, Donets'k, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmel'nyts'kyy, Kirovohrad, Kiev (Kyyiv)**, Kyyiv, Luhans'k, L'viv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol'**, Sumy, Ternopil', Vinnytsya, Volyn' (Luts'k), Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.9% (male 3,883,485; female 3,715,668)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,692,388; female 17,096,611) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 2,472,023; female 4,871,904) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.1% (male 656,016/female 653,734)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 816,443/female 832,152) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 40,591/female 43,068) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 702 (2003 est.) | 53 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 174
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 57 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 70 (2003 est.) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 528
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 469 (2003 est.) |
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 38 (2006) |
Area | total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly larger than Tennessee |
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 final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorites to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity. | Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE assassinated President William TOLBERT (1971-80) and ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule followed by a prolonged civil war, in which DOE himself was killed. In August 2003, a comprehensive peace agreement ended 14 years of intermittent fighting and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was exiled to Nigeria. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains a strong presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament program for former combatants in late 2004, but the security situation is still volatile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish. |
Birth rate | 10.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 44.77 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.1 billion
expenditures: $14.19 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $85.4 million
expenditures: $90.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kiev (Kyyiv) | name: Monrovia
geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 47 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 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; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers |
Coastline | 2,782 km | 579 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1996 | 6 January 1986 |
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 Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
Currency | hryvnia (UAH) | - |
Death rate | 16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 23.1 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.13 billion (2003) | $3.2 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John E. HERBST
embassy: 10 Yuriia Kotsiubynskoho Street, 04053 Kiev mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850 telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 490-4085 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380 FAX: [231] 226-148 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mykhailo B. REZNIK
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 349-2920 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. MINOR
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified due to unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete but boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Ukraine protests Russia's construction of a causeway in the direction of Ukrainian-administered Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait; difficulties with Moldova's Transnistria region complicate controlling border crossing and customs regimes despite concordance on the 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance; 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; ongoing dispute between Ukraine and Romania over the Danube River delta | although Liberia's domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs was declared over in 2003, civil unrest persists, and in 2004, 133,000 Liberian refugees remained in Guinea, 72,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 67,000 in Sierra Leone, and 43,000 in Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone; since 2003, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has maintained about 18,000 peacekeepers in Liberia; the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivoirian rebels; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber |
Economic aid - recipient | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) | $94 million (1999) |
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. President KUCHMA had 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 4.6% in 2002 was more moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed world. In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence. Growth was a sturdy 9.3% in 2003 and a remarkable 12% in 2004, despite a loss of momentum in needed economic reforms. | Civil war and government mismanagement have destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia, while continued international sanctions on diamonds and timber exports will limit growth prospects for the foreseeable future. Many businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some have returned, but many will not. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The departure of the former president, Charles TAYLOR, to Nigeria in August 2003, the establishment of the all-inclusive Transitional Government, and the arrival of a UN mission have helped defuse the political crisis, but have done little to encourage economic development. Wealthy international donors, who are ready to assist reconstruction efforts, are withholding funding until Liberia's National Assembly signs onto a Governance and Economic Management Action Plan (GEMAP). The Plan was created in October 2005 by the International Contact Group for Liberia to help ensure transparent revenue collection and allocation - something that was lacking under the Transitional Government and that has limited Liberia's economic recovery. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial support and technical assistance from donor countries. |
Electricity - consumption | 152.4 billion kWh (2001) | 473.8 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) | 509.4 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 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 | tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
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) | indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) |
Exchange rates | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999) | Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003), 61.754 (2002), 48.583 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (since 23 January 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (since 4 February 2005); First Deputy Prime Minister - Anatoliy KINAKH (since 4 February 2005) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under former-President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; note - a special repeat runoff presidential election between Viktor YUSHCHENKO and Viktor YANUKOVYCH took place on 26 December 2004 after the earlier 21 November 2004 contest - won by Mr. YANUKOVYCH - was invalidated by the Ukrainian Supreme Court because of widespread and significant violations; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council election results: Viktor YUSHCHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YUSHCHENKO 51.99%, Viktor YANUKOVYCH 44.2% |
chief of state: President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (since 6 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 November 2005 (next to be held NA 2011) election results: Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF elected president; percent of vote, second round - Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (UP) 59.6%, George WEAH (CDC) 40.4% note: a UN-brokered cease-fire among warring factions and the Liberian Government resulted in the August 2003 resignation of former president, Charles TAYLOR; a jointly agreed upon replacement, Chairman Gyude BRYANT, assumed office as head of the National Transitional Government on 14 October 2003; free elections were held 11 October 2005, with a runoff election between the two leading candidates on 8 November 2005 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $910 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
Exports - partners | Russia 17.8%, Germany 5.9%, Italy 5.3%, China 4.1% (2003) | Belgium 41.4%, Spain 11.6%, US 9.1%, Malaysia 5.5%, Thailand 4.6%, Poland 4.6%, Germany 4.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky | 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $260.4 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.8%
industry: 44.8% services: 36.4% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 76.9%
industry: 5.4% services: 17.7% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.4% (2003 est.) | 9.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 00 N, 32 00 E | 6 30 N, 9 30 W |
Geography - note | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe | facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture |
Heliports | 8 (2003 est.) | - |
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; Ukraine has improved anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in February 2004; Ukraine's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF | transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Russia 35.9%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.2% (2003) | South Korea 37.9%, Japan 21.1%, Singapore 14.2%, Croatia 4.7% (2005) |
Independence | 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 26 July 1847 |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.8% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 155.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 171.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 139.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.2% (2003 est.) | 15% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC | ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 21.29 million (2003) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996) | agriculture: 70%
industry: 8% services: 22% (2000 est.) |
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: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 56.21%
permanent crops: 1.61% other: 42.18% (2001) |
arable land: 3.43%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 94.59% (2005) |
Languages | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts | dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under recent amendments to Ukraine's election law, the Rada's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 24%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, other 24%; seats by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 101, Regions of Ukraine 61, CPU 59, Working Ukraine 14, United Social Democratic Party 33, Agrarian Party 22, SPU 20, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 19, United Ukraine 19, People's Democratic Party-Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 16, Center Group 15, Democratic Initiatives 14, unaffiliated 57 (December 2004) note: following the election, United Ukraine splintered into the Agrarian Party, European Choice, People's Choice, People's Democratic Party, Regions of Ukraine, and Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; these factions have since undergone a number of changes |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats - number of seats changed in 11 October 2005 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2014); House of Representatives - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held NA 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDC 15, LP 9, UP 8, COTOL 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15 note: the current six-year term for junior senators - those who received the second most votes in the election - is mandated by the Liberian constitution to stagger Senate elections and ensure continuity of government |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.68 years
male: 61.35 years female: 72.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 39.65 years
male: 37.99 years female: 41.35 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: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Asia, Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 675,904 GRT/709,802 DWT
by type: bulk 7, cargo 92, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 10, rail car carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Belize 2, Canada 1, Cyprus 1, Hungary 2, Italy 1, Russia 4, Turkey 3 registered in other countries: 87 (2004 est.) |
total: 1,687 ships (1000 GRT or over) 62,522,787 GRT/96,776,521 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 322, cargo 83, chemical tanker 199, combination ore/oil 2, container 477, liquefied gas 75, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 397, refrigerated cargo 76, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 35 foreign-owned: 1,611 (Argentina 7, Australia 2, Austria 13, Bahamas, The 1, Bermuda 1, Brazil 3, Canada 2, China 35, Croatia 7, Cyprus 3, Denmark 8, Estonia 1, France 3, Germany 587, Greece 267, Hong Kong 37, India 3, Indonesia 1, Isle of Man 5, Israel 5, Italy 16, Japan 102, South Korea 3, Kuwait 1, Latvia 14, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Monaco 10, Netherlands 29, Norway 38, Poland 14, Qatar 2, Russia 77, Saudi Arabia 24, Singapore 28, Slovenia 2, Sweden 8, Switzerland 7, Taiwan 69, Turkey 1, UAE 18, UK 41, Ukraine 16, Uruguay 3, US 93, unknown 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) Troops, Border Troops | Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $617.9 million (FY02) | $67.4 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,196,319 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 9,565,088 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 386,945 (2004 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, 26 July (1847) |
Nationality | noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian |
Natural hazards | NA | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 27.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: at least 238,500 Liberian refugees are in surrounding countries; the uncertain security situation has hindered their ability to return (2006 est.) |
People - note | the sex trafficking of Ukrainian women is a serious problem that has only recently been addressed | - |
Pipelines | gas 20,069 km; oil 4,540 km; refined products 4,169 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH]; Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Our Ukraine bloc (comprised of several parties the most prominent of which are Rukh, the Ukrainian People's Party, Reforms and Order, and Solidarity) [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO]; Regions of Ukraine [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party [Viktor MEDVEDCHUK]; Working Ukraine [Serhiy TYHYPKO]; Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]
note: as well as numerous smaller parties; United Ukraine and Center Group are not actual political parties, but rather deputy groups (factions not based on a party) |
Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN]; Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 47,732,079 (July 2004 est.) | 3,042,004 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 29% (2003 est.) | 80% |
Population growth rate | -0.66% (2004 est.) | 4.91% (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 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Railways | total: 22,473 km
broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2003) |
total: 490 km
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: railway is inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil war (2005) |
Religions | Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38% (2004 est.) | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 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: country code - 380; two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems |
general assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia
domestic: fully automatic system with very low density of .23 fixed main lines per 100 persons; limited wireless service available international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,833,300 (2002) | 6,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.2 million (2002) | 160,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) | 1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (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 | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.02 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2003) | 85% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2004) | - |