Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which was the largest and most powerful state in Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles.
- Capital
- Kyiv (Kiev is the transliteration from Russian)
- Government
- semi-presidential republic
- Population
- 35,661,826
- Area
- 603,550 sq km
- Location
- Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Belarus, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
- Climate
- temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in…
- Natural resources
- iron ore; coal; manganese; natural gas; oil; salt…
- Languages
- Ukrainian (official) 67.5%; Russian (regional language) 29.6%; other (includes Crimean Tatar; Moldovan/Romanian…
- Religions
- Orthodox (includes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU); Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC); and the Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)); Ukrainian Greek Catholic…
- Independence
- 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca.
- Administrative divisions
- 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities** (mista…
- Currency
- hryvnia (UAH)
- Export partners
- Poland 12%; Romania 9%; Turkey 7%; China 6%…
- Import partners
- China 16%; Poland 14%; Germany 8%; Turkey 6%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain