Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area: total: 603,700 sq km; land: 603,700 sq km; water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries: total: 4,558 km; border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km
Coastline: 2,782 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; territorial sea: 12 nm
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
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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Black Sea 0 m; highest point: Hoverla 2,061 m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber
Land use: arable land: 58%; permanent crops: 2%; permanent pastures: 13%; forests and woodland: 18%; other: 9% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 26,050 sq km (1993 est.)
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
Environment-international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography-note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
Population: 49,811,174 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (male 4,690,318; female 4,498,239); 15-64 years: 68% (male 16,136,296; female 17,572,011); 65 years and over: 14% (male 2,251,664; female 4,662,646) (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ukrainian(s); adjective: Ukrainian
Ethnic groups: Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%, other 4%
Religions: Christian Orthodox, Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish
Languages: Ukrainian, Russian
Country name: conventional long form: none; conventional short form: Ukraine; local long form: none; local short form: Ukrayina; former: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type: republic
Capital: Kiev (Kyyiv)
Administrative divisions: 24 oblasti (singular-oblast`), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular-misto)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 August (1991)
Constitution: adopted 28 June 1996
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Viktor YUSCHENKO
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine`s new election law, half of the Rada`s seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 4% of the national electoral vote; the other 225 members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies; all serve four-year terms)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUA, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNPREDEP, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky
