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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 achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured 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 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved independence 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.

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east

Natural Resources

iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land

Population - distribution

densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; notable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa

45415596
Ukrainian (official) 67.5%, Russian (regional language) 29.6%, other (includes small Crimean Tatar-, Moldavian-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities) 2.9% (2001 est.)
KYIV (capital) 2.942 million; Kharkiv 1.441 million; Odesa 1.01 million; Dnipropetrovsk 957,000; Donetsk 934,000; Zaporizhzhya 753,000 (2015)
Conventional long form
none
Conventional short form
Ukraine
Local long form
none
Local short form
Ukrayina
semi-presidential republic
Name
Kiev
Geographic coordinates
50 26 N, 30 31 E
Time difference
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
After Russia, the Ukrainian Republic was the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied unique equipment, such as, large diameter pipes and vertical drilling apparatus, and raw materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions of the former USSR.
Inflation
13.895%
External debt stocks
US$ 122,825,244,000
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
51.9%
Real Interest Rate
1.788%
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
14.186%
Current Account Balance
US$ -189,000,000
Labor Force, Total
22,560,726
Employment in Agriculture
15.26%
Employment in Industry
24.69%
Employment in Services
60.05%
Unemployment Rate
8.87%
Imports of goods and services
US$ 51,783,157,804
Exports of goods and services
US$ 45,971,242,168
Total Merchandise Trade
80.96%
FDI, net inflows
US$ 3,050,000,000
Commercial Service Exports
US$ 12,202,000,000
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing
Commodities
ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs
Partners
Russia 12.7%, Turkey 7.3%, China 6.3%, Egypt 5.5%, Italy 5.2%, Poland 5.2% (2015)
Commodities
energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Partners
Russia 20%, Germany 10.4%, China 10.1%, Belarus 6.5%, Poland 6.2%, Hungary 4.2% (2015)
Country Risk Rating
D
A high-risk political and economic situation and an often very difficult business environment can have a very significant impact on corporate payment behavior. Corporate default probability is very high.
Business Climate Rating
D
The business environment is very difficult. Corporate financial information is rarely available and when available usually unreliable. The legal system makes debt collection very unpredictable. The institutional framework has very serious weaknesses. Intercompany transactions can thus be very difficult to manage in the highly risky environments rated D.
  • Strategic position between Russia and the European Union
  • Considerable agricultural potential
  • Skilled and inexpensive labor
  • International financial support
  • High degree of tension with Russia and inter-regional tensions threatening the integrity of the country
  • Extremely insecure political and social situation
  • Poor economic diversification
  • Excessive private sector borrowing and rapidly rising public indebtedness
  • Banking system seriously weakened by bad debt and lack of liquidity

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