Oleksandr Zhylyevskyy's Homepage at UVA: About Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the northeast, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the Black Sea to the south. The city of Kiev (also spelled Kyiv) is the country's capital.

Ukraine's total area is 233,074 mi² (603,700 km²). The landscape consists mostly of plains and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper, Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Buh. The delta of the Danube is on the border with Romania. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west and the Crimean Mountains along the Black Sea coast in the south. The climate is mostly temperate and continental.

As of July, 2006, Ukraine's population is about 46.7 million. Ethnic Ukrainians make up 78 percent of the population. Significant minority groups are ethnic Russians, Romanians, Belarusians, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Poles, Jews, Armenians, and Greeks. The regions in the east and southeast are the most heavily populated and about 67 percent of the population is urbanized. Ukrainian is the only official language, but Russian is widely spoken. The dominant religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. There are also smaller Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim communities.

Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The President is elected by popular vote and is the head of state. The Prime Minister is appointed and dismissed by the 450-seat parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. The parliament also appoints the Cabinet of Ministers. Normative acts are subject to judicial review. Ukraine has a large number of political parties, many of which have tiny membership.

The economy of Ukraine is an emerging free market, with a gross domestic product that has experienced considerable growth in recent years. Growth is mainly attributed to strong domestic demand, growing consumer and investor confidence, and a surge in steel exports.

ISO 3166 naming convention: UKR, UA. ISO 4217 currency code, name: 980 (UAH), hryvnia. Dialing code: 380. Internet domain: .ua.

For more information, please, check Ukraine Portal on Wikipedia or Information Portal on the site of the Cabinet of Ministers.

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Geographical location

Political map

Topographic map

Electoral map, March 2006