General information

Location: Ukraine is situated in the Eastern Europe and borders on Belorus (in the North), Russia (in the North and East), Moldova and Rumania (in the South), Hungary, Slovakia and Poland (in the West). The Black Sea and Azov Sea (in the South-East and in the South) separate the country from Russia and Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E

Area total: 603,700 sq. km.

Area (comparative): it is larger than France (544,000 sq. km.), Spain (505,000 sq. km.), Sweden (450,000 sq. km.), and Poland (312,700 sq. km.), slightly smaller than Texas in the USA.

Capital city: Kyiv with 2,629,300 inhabitants occupies 800 sq. km.

Geography — note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, second-largest country in Europe.

Population: around 48 million people

Population density: 83.7 per sq. km, 67.86 % living in towns.

Land boundaries: total: 4,558 km, border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km.
Coastline: 2,782 km

Climate: temperate continental, Mediterranean only in the southern Crimean coast, precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in the west and north, lesser in the east and southeast, winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold further inland, summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south.

Terrain: most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the south.

Elevation extremes: highest points: Hoverla Mountain - 2,061 m (the Carpathians), Roman-Kosh - 1,545 m (Crimea).

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulphur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber.
Land use: arable land - 58%; permanent crops - 2%; permanent pastures -13%, forests and woodland - 18%, other - 9%

Environment issues: inadequate supply of potable water, air and water pollution, deforestation, radiation, contamination in the Northeast from 1986 accident at Chernobyl' Nuclear Power Plant.

Religions: Traditionally the people in Ukraine belong to the Orthodox Church and the Greek-Orthodox Church (Catholic with Orthodox Rite), but Latin Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam and numerous other religious denominations are spread in this country.

Languages: Ukrainian - state, Russian , Romanian, Polish, Hungarian.

Data code: UA

Government type: republic, Constitutional Democracy

Head of State: President

Legislative power: Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council)

Executive power: Cabinet of Ministers

Currency: Ukrainian Hryvna (of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 denomination), each contains 100 kopecks.

See Ukraine on YouTube

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nKAqu5SFCKs

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5KJwupu2nYM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W0Nc-xp5Um4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LpVb7OZasMc

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DHdiq4v-clk