Ukraine, an Eastern European country is bordered by Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is the capital of Ukraine.

HISTORY:- Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths were the earliest inhabitants of Ukraine. Until the 16th century, the land was known as Kievan Rus. Mongol invasion in 1240 ended Kievan supremacy in Eastern Europe. From the 13th to the 16th century the region came under Poland and western European influences. Under the Treaty of Pereyasav, Ukraine was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1654. In 1918, Ukraine declared its independence from Russia following the Russian Revolution. Ukraine became a Soviet republic in 1920. In 1922, Ukraine joined the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Soviet Union as the founder member. German and Soviet Russia divided Poland during the World War II. After the war, Ukraine was one of the most destroyed Soviet republics. Ukraine declared its independence in 1991. Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine created the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991. The new constitution of 1996 introduced a semi-presidential republic in Ukraine.

GEOGRAPHY:- Ukraine is located at 49 00 N, 32 00 E in Eastern Europe. Ukraine possesses total 603,700 sq km area with no major internal waters. The coastline is 2,782 km long along with the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The lowest point is Black Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Hora Hoverla (2,061 m). The terrain of the country ranges from fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus in the interior to mountains in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south.

CLIMATE:- The climate of most of the country is continental temperate, except in southern Crimea, where sub-tropical climate reigns.

GOVERNMENT:- Ukraine is a republic. The constitution was adopted on 28th June 1996. The legal system is based on the civil law system. The three principal branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime Minister (head of government), the First Deputy Prime, the Deputy Prime Ministers, and the Cabinet of Ministers. The president is elected by popular vote on a 5-year term. The majority in parliament decides the person for Prime Ministry. The cabinet of ministers is selected by the prime minister excepting for the foreign and defense ministers, who are selected by the President.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

Ukraine’s political parties range from leftist to center and center-right to ultra-nationalist. Christian Democratic Union, Communist Party of Ukraine, European Party of Ukraine, Fatherland Party, Labor Party of Ukraine, People's Union Our Ukraine, Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Party of the Defenders of the Fatherland, People's Movement of Ukraine are the prominent parties of Ukraine. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President                                       Viktor Yushchenko

Prime Minister                                Yulia Tymoshenko

First Deputy Prime Minister            Oleksandr Turchynov

Deputy Prime Ministers                  Hryhoriy Nemyrya and Ivan Vasyunyk

Speaker of the Parliament             Arseniy Yatsenyuk

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Ukraine is divided into 24 provinces.

CULTURE:- The culture of Ukraine is mainly derived form Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Football is the most popular sport of Ukraine.

ECONOMY:- Rich farmlands, huge natural resources, well-developed industrial base, highly trained labor, and a good education system are responsible for the developed economy of Ukraine. The country recovered from the eight straight years of economic decline. Ukraine is a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank since 1992.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $320.1 billion; per capita $6,900.

Real growth rate: 7.3%.

Inflation: 12.8%.

Unemployment: 2.3% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers.

Arable land: 54%.

Agriculture: Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk.

Labor force: 21.58 million (2007 est.); industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996).

Budget:  

Revenues: $43.54 billion

Expenditures: $45.06 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 11.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $69.19 billion (31 December 2007)

Industries: Coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar).

Natural resources: Iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land.

Exports: $38.22 billion (2005 est.): ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products.

Imports: $37.18 billion (2005 est.): energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals.

Major trading partners: Russia, Germany, Turkey, Italy, U.S., Turkmenistan (2004).

Monetary unit: Hryvna

LANGUAGE:- Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine spoken by 67% population. Other languages include:

Russian 24%

Other 9% (including small Romanian, Polish, and Hungarian)

CITIES:- The city of Kiev is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine. Other large cities are Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odesa, and Lviv.

POPULATION:- The population of Ukraine is estimated 46,299,862 with an average growth rate of –0.7%.

Density per sq mi: 199

Literacy rate: 100% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

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)

RELIGION:-

Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%

Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%

Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%

Roman Catholic 2.2%

Protestant 2.2%

Jewish 0.6%

Other 3.2% (2006)

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 9.55 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 15.93 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 9.23 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.06 years

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 20,000 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 488

UNICEF:- UNICEF partners with the Ministry of Health in monitoring the HIV status of pregnant women and gives training to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. 18 hospitals are certified to have baby friendly atmosphere in Ukraine. Vaccination against hepatitis B began in 2003 which reached almost 100% infants in the next year. Iodized salt production increased by 215% in 2004. UNICEF fights against human trafficking. UNICEF also introduced social services for street children and established a new juvenile justice system in the country.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 22,473 km (2002).

Highways: total: 169,491 km; paved: 163,898 km; unpaved: 5,593 km (2000).

Waterways: 4,499 km (1990).

Ports and harbors: Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy.

Airports: 790 (2002).

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