Ukraine

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Country summary

Capital

Kyiv (Kiev)

Borders

Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 940 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 176 km, Romania (southwest) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km

Government type

republic

Population

45,700,395 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

-0.632% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

68.25 years[1]

Unemployment

8.8% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

162[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

146[3]

Doing Business ranking

142[4]


Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. 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 through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to achieve a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006. An early legislative election, brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007, saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, as head of an "Orange" coalition, installed as a new prime minister in December 2007. Viktor YANUKOVUYCH was elected president in a February 2010 run-off election that observers assessed as meeting most international standards. The following month, the Rada approved a vote of no-confidence prompting Yuliya TYMOSHENKO to resign from her post as prime minister.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Hryvnia (ISO code: UAH)
  • Central bank discount rate: 10.25% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 19.6% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $24.7 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $41.5 billion (31 December 2009)[1]

Notable events:

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[6] 31 581 31 262 38 009 42 393 50 133 64 883 86 142 107 753 142 719 180 355
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7] 60.976 45.287
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8] 23.329 26.783 26.574 29.232 29.885 30.710 35.108 36.205 34.320 35.750
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9] 25.171 26.872 27.615 28.995 29.714 32.984 36.045 36.794 34.952 37.239
Debt to revenue (years) 2.614 1.691

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Ukraine", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Ukraine", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Ukraine", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Ukraine", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  5. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 386. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  6. ↑ World Bank. "Ukraine: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Ukraine: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Ukraine: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  9. ↑ World Bank. "Ukraine: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.

Links

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