Ukraine

For other uses, see Ukraine (disambiguation).

Ukraine
Україна (Ukrainian)
Anthem: Державний Гімн України
Derzhavnyi Himn Ukrainy
"State Anthem of Ukraine"
Territory controlled by Ukraine (dark green)
Russian-occupied territories (light green)
Capital
and largest city
Kyiv
49°N 32°E / 49°N 32°E / 49; 32
  • Official language
  • and national language
Ukrainian[1]
Ethnic groups
(2001)[2]
Religion
(2018)[3]
Demonym(s)Ukrainian
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic
• President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Denys Shmyhal
Ruslan Stefanchuk
LegislatureVerkhovna Rada
Formation
882
1199
18 August 1649
20 November 1917
10 March 1919
24 October 1945
24 August 1991
28 June 1996
Area
• Total
603,628[4] km2 (233,062 sq mi) (45th)
• Water (%)
3.8[5]
Population
• 2024 estimate
Increase 33,443,000[6] (36th)
• Density
60.9/km2 (157.7/sq mi) (126th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $655.583 billion[6] (49th)
• Per capita
Increase $19,603[6] (102nd)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $184.099 billion[6] (58th)
• Per capita
Increase $5,504[6] (111st)
Gini (2020)Positive decrease 25.6[7]
low inequality
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.734[8]
high (100th)
CurrencyHryvnia (₴) (UAH)
Time zoneUTC+2[9] (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (EEST)
Date formatdd.mm.yyyy
Drives onright
Calling code+380
ISO 3166 codeUA
Internet TLD

Ukraine[a] is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country[b] after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast.[c][10] It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary, Romania and Moldova[d] to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast.[e] Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa. Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian.

During the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century, but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and absorbed by the Russian Empire. Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a human-made famine. The German occupation during World War II in Ukraine was devastating, with 7 million Ukrainian civilians killed, including most Ukrainian Jews.

Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, and declared itself neutral.[11] A new constitution was adopted in 1996. A series of mass demonstrations, known as the Euromaidan, led to the establishment of a new government in 2014 after a revolution. Russia then unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in the Donbas between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the outbreak of war with Russia, Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the United States, European Union, and NATO.[12][13][14]

Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic. A developing country, it is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capita[15] and corruption remains a significant issue.[16] However, due to its extensive fertile land, pre-war Ukraine was one of the largest grain exporters in the world.[17][18] Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs, and the Ukrainian Armed Force is the fifth largest armed force in the world in terms of both active personnel as well as total number of personnel with the eighth largest defence budget in the world. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleets in the world. It is a founding member of the United Nations, as well as a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, and the OSCE. It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO.[19]

  1. ^ "Law of Ukraine "On ensuring the functioning of Ukrainian as the state language": The status of Ukrainian and minority languages". 20 October 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ethnic composition of the population of Ukraine, 2001 Census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Особливості Релігійного І Церковно-Релігійного Самовизначення Українських Громадян: Тенденції 2010–2018 [Features of Religious and Church – Religious Self-Determination of Ukrainian Citizens: Trends 2010–2018] (PDF) (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Razumkov Center in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches, 22 April 2018, pp. 12, 13, 16, 31, archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2018
    Sample of 2,018 respondents aged 18 years and over, interviewed 23–28 March 2018 in all regions of Ukraine except Crimea and the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
  4. ^ "Ukraine". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 23 March 2022.
  5. ^ Jhariya, M.K.; Meena, R.S.; Banerjee, A. (2021). Ecological Intensification of Natural Resources for Sustainable Agriculture. Springer Singapore. p. 40. ISBN 978-981-334-203-3. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Ukraine)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  7. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Ukraine". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ Net, Korrespondent (18 October 2011). Рішення Ради: Україна 30 жовтня перейде на зимовий час [Rada Decision: Ukraine will change to winter time on 30 October] (in Ukrainian). korrespondent.net. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Ukraine country profile". BBC News. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine". Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  12. ^ Beliakova, Polina; Tecott Metz, Rachel (17 March 2023). "The Surprising Success of U.S. Military Aid to Ukraine". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  13. ^ Dorfman, Zach (28 April 2022). "In closer ties to Ukraine, U.S. officials long saw promise and peril". Yahoo News. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference European Commission Trade Ukraine was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "What is wrong with the Ukrainian economy?". Atlantic Council. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  16. ^ Dlugy, Yana (1 July 2022). "Corruption in Ukraine". New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Ukraine becomes world's third biggest grain exporter in 2011 – minister" (Press release). Black Sea Grain. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  18. ^ "World Trade Report 2013". World Trade Organization. 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  19. ^ Kramer, Andrew E.; Bilefsky, Dan (30 September 2022). "Ukraine submits an application to join NATO, with big hurdles ahead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 October 2022.


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