An Introduction to Ukraine
Ukraine is the largest country by area to fall entirely within the continent of Europe. Its capital was the centre of the substantial empire of Kievan Rus between the 9th and 12th centuries, but from then until the 20th century the territory was divided between a variety of rulers from the Golden Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. It became truly independent only in 1991, since when it has seen a decade of slump followed by one of growth, recently curtailed by the global financial crisis. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Europe (Other)
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GOVERNMENT: Unitary semi-presidential republic
AREA: 603,628 sq km
POPULATION: 45,888,000 (2010 est.); but much higher - 48,457,102 - in the 2001 Census
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Ukrainian
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Ukraine
In sporting terms at least, it's got up and dusted itself off, however, achieving disproportionate success. Dynamo Kiev is the most successful football team in the former Soviet countries with a record 13 USSR championships and two European titles; pole vaulter Sergei Bubka is repeatedly voted the world's best athlete; and the Klitschko brothers, Vladimir and Vitaly, are in many ways the m'st successful heavyweight boxers of all time.
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Ukraine is the largest country by area to fall entirely within the continent of Europe. Its capital was the centre of the substantial empire of Kievan Rus between the 9th and 12th centuries, but from then until the 20th century the territory was divided between a variety of rulers from the Golden Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. It became truly independent only in 1991, since when it has seen a decade of slump followed by one of growth, recently curtailed by the global financial crisis.
The country stretches from borders with Poland and Belarus in the north west to the Black Sea in the south east, where it includes the autonomous region of Crimea and the port of Odessa. Most of the country consists of fertile plains and plateaus, and it is the world's third biggest grain exporter (as of 2011). Ukraine has suffered from a high death rate and a low birth rate since the 1980s, with the population shrinking by over 150,000 a year.
GDP: $329.5bn (2011 est.); per capita $7,233
Religions ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate 39.8%; Moscow Patriarchate 29.4%; Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church 14.1%; Protestant 2.4%; Roman Catholic 1.7% (2011 est.)
Currency: Hryvnia; 8 UAH = $US 1
Telephone Code: +380
Ukraine struggled massively with the move to a market economy after the Soviet break-up. GDP in 1999 stood at just 40 percent of the 1991 level, and only recovered past it at the end of 2006. Heavily dependent on Russia for energy supplies, it is a major exporter of grain and has successful aviation, metals, commercial vehicle and space industries, as well as a growing IT sector.
Exports were $49.7bn in 2010. Metals, machinery and food were key products Russia (21.1% in 2009), Turkey (5.3%) and China (3.8%) are key among very many partners. Imports rose sharply in 2010 to $53.5bn from $45.0bn the previous year, consist mostly of energy, machinery and chemicals, and come primarily from Russia (28% in 2009), Germany (8.6%) and China (6.1%).
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