About Ukraine

Government

Official name: Ukraine

National holiday: August 24, Independence Day (1991)

Geography and Climate

Territory: Ukraine covers a total area of 603,700 square kilometers, making up 5.7% of European territory and 0.44% of the Earth’s land mass.

Size: The Ukrainian border runs 1,316 km from east to west and 893 km from north to south. The country’s geographical coordinates are 52°20’ and 44°20’ latitude and 22°5’ and 41°15’ longitude.

Borders: Ukraine borders seven countries: 1,955 km with Russia to the east and northeast (sea borders with the Azov and Black seas are not demarcated); 1,084 km with Belarus to the north; 542 km with Poland, 135 km with Hungary and 98 km with Slovakia to the west; 1,202 km with Moldova and 608 km with Romania to the south (sea borders not demarcated). The coastline runs 2,835 km.

Ukraine is located in the Eastern European plains in the zones of pine and other mixed forests, forest steppe and the steppe. From the north of the Black Earth belt, the terrain consists of grey forests and soddy-podzolic soil beneath mixed forests, while the area south of the belt is characterized by dark chestnut soil and chestnut soil under the dry steppe. The forest zone includes various types of mixed and deciduous trees such as common silver fir, pine, beech and oak, while the forest steppe area is mainly comprised of oak trees and the steppe features grass and bands of forest cover.

Highest elevation: Hora Hoverla at 2,061 meters above sea-level.

Climate: Temperate continental climate with some variances in the Carpathian and Crimea mountains. The southern part of the Crimea has a Mediterranean climate.

Precipitation: Most precipitation falls in the Ukrainian Carpathians (up to 1,600 millimeters per year) and the Crimea (800-1,150 mm). This indicator fluctuates between 700-750 mm throughout the rest of the country and between 300-350 mm in the southeast. In dry years, the level of precipitation drops considerably: to 100 mm in the coastal regions of the Azov and Black seas, to 150-200 mm in steppe regions and to 250-300 mm in forested areas.

Average temperature: Ukraine’s climate is characterized by considerable fluctuations. In the coldest month (January), temperatures dip into negative territory (–2°...–7.5°С) almost everywhere except southern Crimea, while in the warmest month (July) they range from +17.5°...+22°С. The average length of the frost-free period ranges from 260-270 days in southern Crimea and up to 170 days in the northeast of the country. Significant fluctuations have been recorded in average annual temperatures. Temperatures can rise to +36°...+42°С in the summer and to +6...+18°С in the winter, and they can also fall to –30°С in the south in the winter and to –40°С in the east of the country.

People

Population: Ukraine’s population stood at 46,016,186 as of September 1, 2009.

Population density: 80 people/square km

Birth rate (Jan-Sept 2009): 11.2 births/1,000 population

Death rate (Jan-Sept 2009): 15.3/1,000 population

Urban population (Sept 1, 2009): 31,509,899

Rural population (Sept 1, 2009): 14,506,287

By nationality (2001):

Ukrainian — 77.8 %

Russian — 17.3 %

Armenian — 0.8 %

Belarusian — 0.6 %

Crimean Tatar — 0.5 %

Moldovan — 0.5 %

Bulgarian — 0.4 %

Hungarian — 0.3 %

Romanian — 0.3 %

Polish — 0.3 %

Jewish — 0.2 %

Greek — 0.2 %

Tatar — 0.2 %

Other — 0.4 %

Additional information: www.ukrcensus.gov.ua

Major cities

Ukraine had 458 cities, 886 towns and 28,496 rural communities as of September 1, 2008.

Capital: Kyiv.

Largest cities by population (in descending order): Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Kryvy Rih, Mykolaiv, Mariupol, Luhansk.

Education

Total number of schools: 20,047.

Total number of universities: 409.

State language: Ukrainian. Ukraine had roughly 31 million Ukrainian speakers as of 1993, however, according to census figures, this number had increased to 32.7 million by 2001, or 67.5% of the country’s population. The number of people who consider Russian their native language has been declining in recent years. According to a poll conducted by the Razumkov Centre in late 2007, 39.2% of respondents favored making Ukrainian the sole state language. Another 24.3% said Ukrainian should be the state language, while Russian should have official status in some regions.

As a rule, researchers characterize the situation with languages in Ukraine as bi-linguistic with the population speaking and using both Ukrainian and Russian in similar proportions. Contemporary Ukraine’s language structure is more complex and consists of mono-linguists, represented by both Russian and Ukrainian speakers, bi-linguists and a mixture of the two languages. The western and central parts of the country are mainly Ukrainian-speaking regions with some 24 million people, while the southern and eastern parts are predominantly Russian-speaking regions with 27.6 million.

Much smaller groups of native speakers of Hungarian, Moldovan, Romanian, Polish, Crimean Tatar and other languages reside in other parts of Ukraine.

Religion

The overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian population is Christian.

Thirty-three million people, or 70% of the country’s 47 million citizens, call themselves believers, and about 5 million people regularly attend church services.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is the dominant religion in the central and eastern part of the country as well as the Crimea. The second largest confession is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (most influential in central Ukraine).

The Roman Catholic Church is also active in Ukraine with 80% of its followers concentrated in western Ukraine.

Other religions in Ukraine include the Eastern Rite Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Protestantism, Judaism and Islam (mainly Crimean Tatars).

Currency

The hryvnia was formerly the chief monetary unit of Kyiv Rus. The hryvnia is comprised of 100 kopecks. The country’s ISO 4217 currency code is UAH, while the digital code is 980. The current exchange rate at Ukrainian exchange offices can be found at www.finance.ua.

Tax system

The majority of income is taxed at a rate of 15% of the tax base, which is the flat rate used for individual income tax.

Starting from January 1, 2007, individual income taxes are calculated as follows:

Income tax = (Salary – Payments to three social funds – Tax social benefit) * 15%

The tax is comprised of monthly taxable income, which can include wage earnings as well as other payments and remunerations.

Other types of government-instituted taxes:

VAT;
excise tax;
profit tax;
individual income tax;
duties;
state duties;
property tax (not yet introduced);
land tax;
rent tax;

10. tax on owners of transportation and other self-propelled machines and mechanisms;

11. hunting tax and other fees

Government, political system

Type: Parliamentary-presidential republic

The Ukrainian government functions according to the distribution of authority principle. Power is divided among three independent branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

Key authorities:

President (www.president.gov.ua)

Government: Cabinet of Ministers

Highest legislative body: Verkhovna Rada

The existing Ukrainian Constitution was passed on June 28, 1996 at the Verkhovna Rada’s fifth session.

The country’s executive powers are handled by the Ukrainian President – the head of state – and the Cabinet of Ministers – the government. The Ukrainian prime minister is the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, the government’s highest executive body. Ukraine in 2006 underwent an extensive constitutional reform that has changed the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches and their relationship to the President.

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian - Верховна Рада України), the country’s sole legislative body, is a unicameral parliament with 450 members (the latest list of election results can be found in Ukrainian Deputies article). Deputies are elected for five-year terms based on a proportional system of party lists.

Judicial proceedings in Ukraine are handled by:

the Constitutional Court and
courts of general jurisdiction

The justice system is handled by government employees such as professional judges as well as by representatives of the people, such as grand juries and people’s assessors. They are all considered equal in terms of their rights and are only subordinate to the law. Judges make their rulings based on their internal convictions in accordance with the law. State judges are given lifetime appointments until they reach the age of 65. People’s assessors and grand juries are confirmed for periods of two and four years, respectively. State judges use their own discretion when ruling on civil and criminal cases as well as cases involving administrative violations, while a group of three judges rules on situations where the sentence exceeds ten years of imprisonment. People’s assessors only handle civil cases, while grand juries, which are comprised of five judges from appellate courts, handle criminal cases. Initially, professional judges at least 25 years old are appointed to local court positions by the Ukrainian president for a period of five years after they have passed qualification exams by a district appellate court’s qualification commission. The judge assumes office after taking the oath and faces disciplinary measures if this oath is violated. After the five-year period has concluded, the Ukrainian parliament appoints the professional judge permanently until the age of 65 based on the recommendation of the Ukrainian High Council of Justice. People’s courts (people’s assessors and juries) are not appointed but approved based on recommendations. The law requires judges to be addressed as “Your Honor.” The courts operate with judicial autonomy. Judges gather for court meetings when required to do so. They also meet once a year at regional judge conferences (a total of 8,712 judges) and once every five years send their representatives to a congress of judges who take part in the election of the High Council of Justice. Judges are considered civil servants. They wear a robe and special emblem when on duty. The government ensures the protection of judges and their families. Judges are given free housing. They receive salaries of 8,000 hryvni per month from the state budget in accordance with the time they have served as well as their qualifications. The qualification commission of the appellate district court can discipline judges from local district municipal courts. The detention or arrest of a judge can only be carried out on orders of the Ukrainian parliament, which must also approve criminal charges against the judge. In the event that a judge is convicted of a crime, the Ukrainian parliament passes a resolution and issues a decree on the dismissal of the professional judge. Once a judge reaches the age of 65, the Ukrainian parliament relieves the judge of his/her duties and the judge begins receiving a pension in accordance with Ukrainian pension legislation.

Administrative division: 24 regions, two cities of central subordination (Kyiv and Sevastopol) and the Crimea Autonomous Republic. In addition, as of May 1, 2006, there were 490 districts, 118 municipal districts, 29,906 localities (458 cities, 884 townships and 28,564 rural communities) and 10,281 village councils.

Symbols

According to the Constitution, the state symbols of Ukraine are the State Flag, the State Coat of Arms and the State Anthem.

The blue and yellow colors symbolized the Kyivan State even before Rus was baptized. After Christianity was accepted, these colors were dedicated to the image of the Holy Cross. During the times of the Tartar yoke of Baty-khan, this symbolism disappeared to be revived later on in the church ritual decorations and blazonry of Ukrainian towns. The coats of arms of the towns in the Kyiv region and generally throughout Ukraine were framed in the yellow-sky blue colors. Since the 17th century, the regimental and company banners of Cossacks were made of blue cloth with the cross, stars, weapons and images of saints drawn with yellow paint on it. The State Coat of Arms of the UNR (trident against the blue background) was approved on February 12, 1918 by the Small Council in Korosten. On March 22, 1918, the trident and yellow-blue flag were approved by the Central Rada. During Skoropadsky’s Hetman State, the color order was changed for blue-yellow. In 1917-1920, “Ukraine Has Not Died Yet” (set to music by Mykhailo Verbytsky and verse by Pavlo Chubynsky) was not approved by legislators as a national anthem and other anthems were used. The process of developing the external attributes of the modern Ukrainian state has not yet been completed.

On January 15, 1992, the musical rendition of the State Anthem was approved by the Verkhovna Rada.

On January 28, 1992, the Verkhovna Rada issued a decree approving the blue-yellow flag as the Banner of Independent Ukraine. Under a decree “On the State Coat of Arms of Ukraine” approved by the Verkhovna Rada on February 19, 1992, the Trident was approved as the Small State Coat of Arms and the principal element of the Great State Coat of Arms.

The State Flag of Ukraine is the official state symbol (along with the Coat of Arms and the State Anthem). The flag is a banner of two equally-sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow.

The State Coat of Arms of Ukraine is one of four official symbols of the government along with the Flag, Anthem and Constitution. It consists of a small and a great coat of arms. The small coat of arms was officially adopted on February 19, 1992, while constitutional provisions exist for establishing the great coat of arms, which is not yet officially adopted. The central figure of both coats of arms is the Tryzub (Ukrainian: Тризуб, "trident") of Prince Volodymyr the Great, the founder and baptizer of Rus. In addition, under the Ukrainian Constitution, the great coat of arms is to portray a shield supported by a lion from the Galician Coat of Arms on the left and a Cossack in traditional dress, wielding a musket, the symbol of the Cossack Hetmanate, on the right. Theory goes that tryzub is composed of the Ukrainian letters for word Freedom (ВОЛЯ) pronounced VOLYA.

The State Anthem of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Державний гімн України) is one of four official symbols of the government along with the Flag, Coat of Arms and Constitution.

The composition "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" (Ukrainian: Ще не вмерла Українa, or "Ukraine's [glory] has not yet perished") was approved by the Verkhovna Rada as the national anthem of Ukraine. The lyrics were written by Pavlo Chubynsky, while the music was composed by Mykhaylo Verbytsky.