Ukraine Information
"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. "
(extract from: www.cia.gov)
Facts
- Area: 603,700 sq km
- Boardering Countries: Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania (south & west), Russia, and Slovakia.
- Climate and Terrain: Ukraine is a temperate region with mediterranian climates along the southern Crimean cost. The Ukraine consists of fertile plains and plateus. Mountains are found only in the west and extreme south.
- Land Use: 57.1% is arable land, 1.73% permanent crops, 47.17% other.
- Population: 48,055,439 (July 2003 est.)
- Age: 0-14 years old is 16.3%, 15-64 years old is 68.7%, 65 years and older is 15%. The average age is 38.
- Population Growth Rate: -0.69%
- Births: 9.89 per 1000 populace with 1.34 children born/woman.
- Deaths: 16.39 per 1000 populace
- Life Expectancy: 66.5 years
- Infant Mortality: 20.87 per 1000 live births.
- 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%
- Major Religions: Catholic, Protestant, Jewish
- Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
- Government: republic
- Capital: Kiev (Kyyiv)
- Independence: 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
- National Holidays: 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
- Population below Poverty: 29%
- Currency: hryvnia (UAH)
- Exchange Rate: hryvnia per US dollar - 5.3266 (2002)
- Children Adopted by US Parents: FY-2002 … 1104
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