Ukraine (2004) | Vietnam (2001) | |
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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) |
58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh*, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai |
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:
32.13% (male 13,266,585; female 12,415,384) 15-64 years: 62.44% (male 24,357,343; female 25,556,187) 65 years and over: 5.43% (male 1,722,094; female 2,621,421) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 702 (2003 est.) | 34 (2000 est.) |
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:
17 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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:
17 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly larger than New Mexico |
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. | France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market. |
Birth rate | 10.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 21.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.1 billion
expenditures: $14.19 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$5.3 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.) |
Capital | Kiev (Kyyiv) | Hanoi |
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 in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March) |
Coastline | 2,782 km | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1996 | 15 April 1992 |
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:
Socialist Republic of Vietnam conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV |
Currency | hryvnia (UAH) | dong (VND) |
Death rate | 16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.13 billion (2003) | $13.2 billion (2000) |
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 Douglas B. "Pete" PETERSON embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 8431500 FAX: [84] (4) 8351510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
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-designate Nguyen Tam CHIEN chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
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 | maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with China in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; portions of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; agreement on land border with China was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have not yet been made public |
Economic aid - recipient | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 |
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. | Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems existing in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth continued at the moderately strong level of 5.5%, a level that should be matched in 2001. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers; this problem apparently eased in 2000. Foreign direct investment fell dramatically, from $8.3 billion in 1996 to about $1.6 billion in 1999. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. |
Electricity - consumption | 152.4 billion kWh (2001) | 21.376 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 800 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 164.7 billion kWh (2001) | 22.985 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
47.71% hydro: 52.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 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 | logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
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) | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
Exchange rates | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3327 (2003), 5.3266 (2002), 5.3722 (2001), 5.4402 (2000), 4.1304 (1999) | dong per US dollar - 14,530 (January 2001), 14,020 (January 2000), 13,900 (December 1998), 11,100 (December 1996), 11,193 (1995 average), 11,000 (October 1994) |
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 Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997) and Vice President Nguyen Thi BINH (since NA October 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Cong TAN (since 29 September 1997), Nguyen Manh CAM (since 29 September 1997), and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $14.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | Russia 17.8%, Germany 5.9%, Italy 5.3%, China 4.1% (2003) | China, Japan, Germany, Australia, US, France, Singapore, UK, Taiwan |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $260.4 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $154.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.8%
industry: 44.8% services: 36.4% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 35% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,950 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.4% (2003 est.) | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 00 N, 32 00 E | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe | - |
Heliports | 8 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 169,491 km
paved: 163,898 km unpaved: 5,593 km (2000) |
total:
93,300 km paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.2% (1999) |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 29% (1993) |
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 | minor producer of opium poppy with 2,100 hectares cultivated in 1999, capable of producing 11 metric tons of opium; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems |
Imports | NA (2001) | $15.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | Russia 35.9%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.2% (2003) | Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, US, Sweden |
Independence | 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.8% (2003 est.) | 10.7% (2000 est.) |
Industries | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) | food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
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.) |
30.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.2% (2003 est.) | -0.6% (2000 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 | ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) | 18,600 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) |
Labor force | 21.29 million (2003) | 38.2 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 32%, services 44% (1996) | agriculture 67%, industry and services 33% (1997 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:
4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 56.21%
permanent crops: 1.61% other: 42.18% (2001) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 30% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (450 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 92%, other 8% (the 8% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV or CPV-approved 450 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.68 years
male: 61.35 years female: 72.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
69.56 years male: 67.12 years female: 72.19 years (2001 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: 93.7% male: 96.5% female: 91.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Asia, Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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:
143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 705,388 GRT/1,071,902 DWT ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 108, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) Troops, Border Troops | People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $617.9 million (FY02) | $650 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 2.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,196,319 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
21,704,588 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 9,565,088 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
13,673,438 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 386,945 (2004 est.) | males:
961,124 (2001 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, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
noun:
Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | NA | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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) | petroleum products 150 km |
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) |
only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Le Kha PHIEU, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 47,732,079 (July 2004 est.) | 79,939,014 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 29% (2003 est.) | 37% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.66% (2004 est.) | 1.45% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Radios | - | 8.2 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 22,473 km
broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2003) |
total:
2,652 km standard gauge: 166 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,249 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 237 km NA-m gauges (three rails) (1998) |
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.) | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
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:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan, running through 2005, emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system
domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is now rising slowly and the domestic trunk system is being improved; the mobile cellular telephone system is expanding at a high rate international: 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:
Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; since 1991, main lines in use have been substantially increased and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,833,300 (2002) | 2.6 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.2 million (2002) | 730,155 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
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 | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.49 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2003) | 25% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2004) | 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft |