{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "

Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which was the largest and most powerful state in Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries. 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. 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, the Russian Empire absorbed most Ukrainian territory. After czarist Russia collapsed in 1917, Ukraine -- which has long been known as the region's \"bread basket\" for its agricultural production -- achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but the country was reconquered and endured a Soviet rule that engineered two famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over eight million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for seven to eight million more deaths. In 1986, a sudden power surge during a reactor-systems test at Ukraine's Chernobyl power station triggered the worst nuclear disaster in history, releasing massive amounts of radioactive material. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) dissolved, democracy and prosperity remained elusive, with the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalling efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.

In 2004 and 2005, a mass protest dubbed the \"Orange Revolution\" forced the authorities to overturn a presidential election and allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH became prime minister in 2006 and was elected president in 2010. In 2012, Ukraine held legislative elections that Western observers widely criticized as corrupt. In 2013, YANUKOVYCH backtracked on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU -- in favor of closer economic ties with Russia -- and then used force against protestors who supported the agreement, leading to a three-month protestor occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in 2014 led to multiple deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. Pro-West President Petro POROSHENKO took office later that year; Volodymyr ZELENSKYY succeeded him in 2019.

Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in 2014, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. In response, the UN passed a resolution confirming Ukraine's sovereignty and independence. In mid-2014, Russia began an armed conflict in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces. International efforts to end the conflict failed, and by 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded. On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated the conflict by invading the country on several fronts, in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. Despite Ukrainian resistance, Russia has laid claim to four Ukrainian oblasts -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia -- although none is fully under Russian control. The international community has not recognized the annexations. The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with over six million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally. It remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria). President ZELENSKYY has focused on boosting Ukrainian identity to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war through reclaiming territory and advancing Ukraine’s candidacy for EU membership. 

" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Belarus, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "49 00 N, 32 00 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "AsiaEurope" }, "Area": { "total ": { "text": "603,550 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "579,330 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "24,220 sq km" }, "note": "note: Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, an area of approximately 27,000 sq km (10,400 sq miles)" }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "almost four times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Texas" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "5,581 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Belarus 1,111 km; Hungary 128 km; Moldova 1,202 km; Poland 498 km; Romania 601 km; Russia 1,944 km, Slovakia 97 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "2,782 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200 m or to the depth of exploitation" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south" }, "Terrain": { "text": "mostly fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the extreme south of the Crimean Peninsula" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Hora Hoverla 2,061 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Black Sea 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "175 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "71.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 56.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 1.5% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 13.6% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "16.8% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "12% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "4,350 sq km (2020)" }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Dunay (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Dnipro (Dnieper) river mouth (shared with Russia [s] and Belarus) - 2,287 km; Dnister (Dniester) river source and mouth (shared with Moldova) - 1,411 km; Vistula (shared with Poland [s/m] and Belarus) - 1,213 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth" }, "Major watersheds (area sq km)": { "text": "Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km), Don (458,694 sq km), Dnieper (533,966 sq km)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; noteable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "occasional floods; occasional droughts" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe after Russia" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "total": { "text": "35,661,826" }, "male": { "text": "17,510,149" }, "female": { "text": "18,151,677 (2024 est.)" } }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Ukrainian(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Ukrainian" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001 est.)" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Ukrainian (official) 67.5%, Russian (regional language) 29.6%, other (includes Crimean Tatar, Moldovan/Romanian, and Hungarian) 2.9% (2001 est.)" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "
Свiтова Книга Фактiв – найкраще джерело базової інформації. (Ukrainian)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information." } }, "Religions": { "text": "Orthodox (includes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), and the Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)), Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish (2013 est.)", "note": "note: Ukraine's population is overwhelmingly Christian; the vast majority - up to two thirds - identify themselves as Orthodox, but many do not specify a particular branch; the OCU and the UOC-MP each represent less than a quarter of the country's population, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church accounts for 8-10%, and the UAOC accounts for 1-2%; Muslim and Jewish adherents each compose less than 1% of the total population" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "12.3% (male 2,278,116/female 2,122,500)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "67.8% (male 12,784,928/female 11,376,460)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "19.9% (2024 est.) (male 2,447,105/female 4,652,717)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "48.4" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "22.6" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "25.8" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "3.9 (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: data include Crimea" }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "44.9 years (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "41.4 years" }, "female": { "text": "49.2 years" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "2.38% (2024 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "18.6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "36.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; noteable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "70.1% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "-0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "3.017 million KYIV (capital), 1.421 million Kharkiv, 1.008 million Odesa, 942,000 Dnipropetrovsk, 888,000 Donetsk (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.06 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.07 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1.12 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.53 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "26.2 years (2019 est.)" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "17 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "8.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "9.7 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "7.6 deaths/1,000 live births" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "70.5 years (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "65.4 years" }, "female": { "text": "75.8 years" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.22 children born/woman (2024 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.59 (2024 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "65.4% (2012)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 99.4% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 99.6% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0.6% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0.4% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "7.6% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physician density": { "text": "2.99 physicians/1,000 population (2014)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "7.5 beds/1,000 population (2014)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "24.1% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "5.69 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "2.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "0.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "25.8% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "40% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "11.5% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "NA" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "61.6% (2023 est.)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "5.4% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write" }, "total population": { "text": "100%" }, "male": { "text": "100%" }, "female": { "text": "100% (2021)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "15 years" }, "male": { "text": "15 years" }, "female": { "text": "15 years (2014)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "air and water pollution; land degradation; solid waste management; biodiversity loss; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "71.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 56.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 1.5% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 13.6% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "16.8% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "12% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "70.1% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "-0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Food insecurity": { "severe localized food insecurity": { "text": "

due to conflict - Ukraine continues to be a significant supplier of food commodities for the world; however, according to a 2023 analysis, at least 17.6 million people are estimated to be in need of multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance in 2023 due to the war, including over 11 million in need of food security and livelihood interventions; the harvest of the 2023 winter cereal crops, mostly wheat, is onging and will be concluded by August; as a result of a smaller planted area, the 2023 wheat harvest in areas under government control is estimated at 18.5 million mt, about 8% below the already war‑affected 2022 output; despite decreased cereal production, food availability at the national level is reported to be adequate, but access remains a major challenge; the country has already experienced elevated levels of food price inflation in the past, due to the economic impact of the conflict in eastern areas; in addition, rising energy costs, amidst high unemployment rates and limited livelihood opportunities, are reducing households’ purchasing power and driving more people into poverty

(2023)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0.34% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0.42% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "13.51 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "202.25 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "63.37 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "15,242,025 tons (2016 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "487,745 tons (2015 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "3.2% (2015 est.)" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Dunay (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Dnipro (Dnieper) river mouth (shared with Russia [s] and Belarus) - 2,287 km; Dnister (Dniester) river source and mouth (shared with Moldova) - 1,411 km; Vistula (shared with Poland [s/m] and Belarus) - 1,213 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth" }, "Major watersheds (area sq km)": { "text": "Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km), Don (458,694 sq km), Dnieper (533,966 sq km)" }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "2.77 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "4.04 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "3.06 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "175.28 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "none" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Ukraine" }, "local long form": { "text": "none" }, "local short form": { "text": "Ukraina" }, "former": { "text": "Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic" }, "etymology": { "text": "name derives from the Old East Slavic word \"ukraina\" meaning \"borderland or march (militarized border region)\" and began to be used extensively in the 19th century; originally Ukrainians referred to themselves as Rusyny (Rusyns, Ruthenians, or Ruthenes), an endonym derived from the medieval Rus state (Kyivan Rus)" } }, "Government type": { "text": "semi-presidential republic" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Kyiv (Kiev is the transliteration from Russian)" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "50 26 N, 30 31 E" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "daylight saving time": { "text": "+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October" }, "etymology": { "text": "the name is associated with that of Kyi, who along with his brothers Shchek and Khoryv, and their sister Lybid, are the legendary founders of the medieval city of Kyiv; Kyi being the eldest brother, the city was named after him" }, "note": "note: pronounced KAY-yiv" }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities** (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol), Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad (Kropyvnytskyi), Kyiv**, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol**, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn (Lutsk), Zakarpattia (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr", "note": "note 1: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); plans include the eventual renaming of Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad oblasts, but because these names are mentioned in the Constitution of Ukraine, the change will require a constitutional amendment

note 2: the US Government does not recognize Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the municipality of Sevastopol, nor their redesignation as the \"Republic of Crimea\" and the \"Federal City of Sevastopol\"; neither does the US Government recognize Russia's claimed annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts" }, "Independence": { "text": "24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus); 1199 (Principality (later Kingdom) of Ruthenia formed); 1648 (establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate); 22 January 1918 (from Soviet Russia)" }, "National holiday": { "text": "Independence Day, 24 August (1991); note - 22 January 1918, the day Ukraine first declared its independence from Soviet Russia, and the date the short-lived Western and Greater (Eastern) Ukrainian republics united (1919), is now celebrated as Unity Day" }, "Legal system": { "text": "civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts" }, "Constitution": { "history": { "text": "several previous; latest adopted and ratified 28 June 1996" }, "amendments": { "text": "proposed by the president of Ukraine or by at least one third of the Supreme Council members; adoption requires simple majority vote by the Council and at least two-thirds majority vote in its next regular session; adoption of proposals relating to general constitutional principles, elections, and amendment procedures requires two-thirds majority vote by the Council and approval in a referendum; constitutional articles on personal rights and freedoms, national independence, and territorial integrity cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2019" } }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt" }, "Citizenship": { "citizenship by birth": { "text": "no" }, "citizenship by descent only": { "text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Ukraine" }, "dual citizenship recognized": { "text": "no" }, "residency requirement for naturalization": { "text": "5 years" } }, "Suffrage": { "text": "18 years of age; universal" }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { "text": "President Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (since 20 May 2019)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Denys SHMYHAL (since 4 March 2020)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, approved by the Verkhovna Rada" }, "elections/appointments": { "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 31 March and 21 April 2019, the next election was scheduled to be held in March/April 2024 but no election was held because Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022, and a presidential election cannot be held when martial law is in effect; prime minister selected by the Verkhovna Rada" }, "election results": { "text": "
2019: Volodymyr ZELENSKYY elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (Servant of the People) 30.2%, Petro POROSHENKO (BPP-Solidarity) 15.6%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 13.4%, Yuriy BOYKO (Opposition Platform-For Life) 11.7%, 35 other candidates 29.1%; percent of vote in the second round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY 73.2%, Petro POROSHENKO 24.5%, other 2.3%; Denys SHMYHAL (independent) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 291-59

2014: Petro POROSHENKO elected president in first round; percent of vote - Petro POROSHENKO (independent) 54.5%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 12.9%, Oleh LYASHKO (Radical Party) 8.4%, other 24.2%; Volodymyr HROYSMAN (BPP) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 257-50" }, "note": "note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a presidential administration helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president" }, "Legislative branch": { "legislature name": { "text": "Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)" }, "legislative structure": { "text": "unicameral" }, "number of seats": { "text": "450 (all directly elected)" }, "electoral system": { "text": "mixed system" }, "scope of elections": { "text": "full renewal" }, "term in office": { "text": "5 years" }, "most recent election date": { "text": "7/21/2019" }, "parties elected and seats per party": { "text": "Servant of the People (254); Opposition Platform - For Life (43); Fatherland (26); European Solidarity (25); Independents (46); Other (30)" }, "percentage of women in chamber": { "text": "21.2%" }, "expected date of next election": { "text": "May 2025" }, "note": "note 1: the next legislative election is expected to take place after the Russian-Ukrainian War ends

note 2: voting not held in Crimea and parts of two Russian-occupied eastern oblasts leaving 26 seats vacant; although this brings the total to 424 elected members (of 450 potential), article 83 of the constitution mandates that a parliamentary majority consists of 226 seats" }, "Judicial branch": { "highest court(s)": { "text": "Supreme Court of Ukraine or SCU (consists of 100 judges, organized into civil, criminal, commercial and administrative chambers, and a grand chamber); Constitutional Court (consists of 18 justices); High Anti-Corruption Court (consists of 39 judges, including 12 in the Appeals Chamber)" }, "judge selection and term of office": { "text": "Supreme Court judges recommended by the High Qualification Commission of Judges (a 16-member state body responsible for judicial candidate testing and assessment and judicial administration), submitted to the High Council of Justice, a 21-member independent body of judicial officials responsible for judicial self-governance and administration, and appointed by the president; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; High Anti-Corruption Court judges are selected by the same process as Supreme Court justices, with one addition – a majority of a combined High Qualification Commission of Judges and a 6-member Public Council of International Experts must vote in favor of potential judges in order to recommend their nomination to the High Council of Justice; this majority must include at least 3 members of the Public Council of International Experts; Constitutional Court justices appointed - 6 each by the president, by the Congress of Judges, and by the Verkhovna Rada; judges serve 9-year nonrenewable terms

 

" }, "subordinate courts": { "text": "

Courts of Appeal; district courts

" }, "note": "note: specialized courts were abolished as part of Ukraine's judicial reform program; in November 2019, President ZELENSKYY signed a bill on legal reforms" }, "Political parties": { "text": "Batkivshchyna (Fatherland)
European Solidarity or YeS
Holos (Voice or Vote)
Opposition Bloc (formerly known as Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development, successor of the Industrial Party of Ukraine, and resulted from a schism in the original Opposition Bloc in 2019; banned in court June 2022; ceased to exist in July 2022)
Opposition Bloc or OB (divided into Opposition Bloc - Party for Peace and Development and Opposition Platform - For Life in 2019; ceased to exist in July 2022)
Opposition Platform - For Life (resulted from a schism in the original Opposition Bloc in 2019; activities suspended by the National Security and Defense Council in March 2022; dissolved in April 2022)
Platform for Life and Peace
Radical Party or RPOL
Samopomich (Self Reliance)
Servant of the People
Svoboda (Freedom)" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CICA (observer), CIS (participating member, has not signed the 1993 CIS charter), EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC", "note": "note: Ukraine is an EU candidate country whose satisfactory completion of accession criteria is required before being granted full EU membership" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { "text": "Ambassador Oksana MARKAROVA (since 7 July 2021)" }, "chancery": { "text": "3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007" }, "telephone": { "text": "[1] (202) 349-2963" }, "FAX": { "text": "[1] (202) 333-0817" }, "email address and website": { "text": "
emb_us@mfa.gov.ua

https://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en" }, "consulate(s) general": { "text": "Chicago, New York, San Francisco" } }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { "text": "Ambassador Bridget A. BRINK (since 2 June 2022)" }, "embassy": { "text": "4 A. I. Igor Sikorsky Street, 04112 Kyiv" }, "mailing address": { "text": "5850 Kyiv Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850" }, "telephone": { "text": "[380] (44) 521-5000" }, "FAX": { "text": "[380] (44) 521-5544" }, "email address and website": { "text": "
kyivacs@state.gov

https://ua.usembassy.gov/" } }, "Flag description": { "text": "two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow; although the colors date back to medieval heraldry, in modern times they are sometimes claimed to represent grain fields under a blue sky" }, "National symbol(s)": { "text": "tryzub (trident), sunflower; national colors: blue, yellow" }, "National anthem": { "name": { "text": "\"Shche ne vmerla Ukraina\" (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished)" }, "lyrics/music": { "text": "Paul CHUBYNSKYI/Mikhail VERBYTSKYI" }, "note": "note: music adopted 1991, lyrics adopted 2003; song first performed in 1864 at the Ukraine Theatre in Lviv; the lyrics, originally written in 1862, were revised in 2003" }, "National heritage": { "total World Heritage Sites": { "text": "8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)" }, "selected World Heritage Site locales": { "text": "Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (c); Lviv Historic Center (c); Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, Chernivtsi (c); Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese, Sevastopol (c); Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region (c); Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n); Struve Geodetic Arc (c); The Historic Centre of Odesa (c)" } } }, "Economy": { "Economic overview": { "text": "

lower-middle-income, non-EU, Eastern European economy; key wheat and corn exporter; gradual recovery after 30% GDP contraction at start of war; damage to infrastructure and agriculture balanced by consumer and business resilience in western Ukraine; international aid has stabilized foreign exchange reserves, allowing managed currency float; continued progress on anti-corruption reforms

" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023": { "text": "$560.111 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022": { "text": "$531.796 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021": { "text": "$746.471 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: data in 2021 dollars" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2023": { "text": "5.32% (2023 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2022": { "text": "-28.76% (2022 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2021": { "text": "3.45% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2023": { "text": "$15,900 (2023 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2022": { "text": "$13,800 (2022 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2021": { "text": "$17,800 (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: data in 2021 dollars" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$178.757 billion (2023 est.)", "note": "note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023": { "text": "12.85% (2023 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022": { "text": "20.18% (2022 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2021": { "text": "9.36% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: annual % change based on consumer prices" }, "Credit ratings": { "Fitch rating": { "text": "CC (2022)" }, "Moody's rating": { "text": "Ca (2023)" }, "Standard & Poors rating": { "text": "CCC (2023)" }, "note": "note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained." }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "7.4% (2023 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "18.8% (2023 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "61.3% (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data" }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "64.1% (2023 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "41.7% (2023 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "16.9% (2023 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "-1.8% (2023 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "28.6% (2023 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-49.5% (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection" }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "maize, potatoes, wheat, sunflower seeds, sugar beets, milk, barley, soybeans, rapeseed, cabbages (2022)", "note": "note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage" }, "Industries": { "text": "industrial machinery, ferrous and nonferrous metals, automotive and aircraft components, electronics, chemicals, textiles, mining, construction" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "6.76% (2023 est.)", "note": "note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency" }, "Labor force": { "text": "20.539 million (2021 est.)", "note": "note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work" }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2021": { "text": "9.83% (2021 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2020": { "text": "9.48% (2020 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2019": { "text": "8.19% (2019 est.)" }, "note": "note: % of labor force seeking employment" }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "19.1% (2021 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "18.1% (2021 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "20.4% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment" }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "1.6% (2020 est.)", "note": "note: % of population with income below national poverty line" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2020": { "text": "25.6 (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality" }, "Average household expenditures": { "on food": { "text": "41.7% of household expenditures (2023 est.)" }, "on alcohol and tobacco": { "text": "6.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)" } }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "4.3% (2020 est.)" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "21.7% (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population" }, "Remittances": { "Remittances 2023": { "text": "8.37% of GDP (2023 est.)" }, "Remittances 2022": { "text": "10.36% of GDP (2022 est.)" }, "Remittances 2021": { "text": "9.04% of GDP (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities" }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "$68.559 billion (2022 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "$93.783 billion (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2020": { "text": "58.72% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: central government debt as a % of GDP" }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "16.69% (of GDP) (2022 est.)", "note": "note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2023": { "text": "-$9.655 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2022": { "text": "$7.976 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2021": { "text": "-$3.882 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars" }, "Exports": { "Exports 2023": { "text": "$51.093 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Exports 2022": { "text": "$57.517 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Exports 2021": { "text": "$81.504 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars" }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "Poland 14%, Romania 8%, Turkey 6%, China 6%, Germany 5% (2022)", "note": "note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "corn, seed oils, wheat, iron ore, rapeseed (2022)", "note": "note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2023": { "text": "$88.83 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Imports 2022": { "text": "$83.254 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Imports 2021": { "text": "$84.175 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars" }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "Poland 17%, China 12%, Germany 9%, Turkey 6%, Hungary 4% (2022)", "note": "note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "refined petroleum, cars, natural gas, garments, packaged medicine (2022)", "note": "note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023": { "text": "$40.51 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022": { "text": "$28.506 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2021": { "text": "$30.967 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars" }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 2023": { "text": "$96.719 billion (2023 est.)" } }, "Exchange rates": { "Currency": { "text": "hryvnia (UAH) per US dollar -" }, "Exchange rates 2023": { "text": "36.574 (2023 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2022": { "text": "32.342 (2022 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2021": { "text": "27.286 (2021 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2020": { "text": "26.958 (2020 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2019": { "text": "25.846 (2019 est.)" } } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "100% (2022 est.)" } }, "Electricity": { "installed generating capacity": { "text": "58.531 million kW (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "99.69 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "2.48 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "1.034 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "transmission/distribution losses": { "text": "11.108 billion kWh (2022 est.)" } }, "Electricity generation sources": { "fossil fuels": { "text": "32.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "nuclear": { "text": "54.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "solar": { "text": "4.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "wind": { "text": "1.8% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "hydroelectricity": { "text": "6.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "biomass and waste": { "text": "0.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" } }, "Nuclear energy": { "Number of operational nuclear reactors": { "text": "15 (2023)" }, "Number of nuclear reactors under construction": { "text": "2 (2023)" }, "Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors": { "text": "13.11GW (2023 est.)" }, "Percent of total electricity production": { "text": "55% (2023 est.)" }, "Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down": { "text": "4 (2023)" } }, "Coal": { "production": { "text": "4.248 million metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "10.953 million metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "9,000 metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "6.553 million metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "34.375 billion metric tons (2022 est.)" } }, "Petroleum": { "total petroleum production": { "text": "3,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)" }, "refined petroleum consumption": { "text": "248,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)" }, "crude oil estimated reserves": { "text": "395 million barrels (2021 est.)" } }, "Natural gas": { "production": { "text": "18.725 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "22.856 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "95.994 million cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "5.404 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "1.104 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)" } }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "93.36 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from coal and metallurgical coke": { "text": "19.401 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from petroleum and other liquids": { "text": "31.22 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from consumed natural gas": { "text": "42.739 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" } }, "Energy consumption per capita": { "Total energy consumption per capita 2022": { "text": "53.302 million Btu/person (2022 est.)" } } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "1.434 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "4 (2023 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "50.3 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "135 (2021 est.)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "there has been considerable damage and destruction to the communications infrastructure in more than 10 out of 24 regions of Ukraine since the war started; Ukraine estimates it will need $4.67 billion (€4.38 billion) over 10 years to repair an overlooked but expensive casualty in the ongoing Russian invasion: its telecommunications network; forty-five per cent of the total network damage is felt by fixed broadband operators, followed closely by mobile operators at 43 percent; \"it will be difficult to restore telecommunications to their pre-war level until there are \"conditions for the safe living of consumers and service providers\"; the World Bank estimates that roughly 12 per cent of all Ukrainian households have lost mobile service connection: an issue, the report notes, that \"affects not only personal communication but also critical services and economic activities\"; Ukraine is also one of the biggest users of SpaceX’s Starlink, a series of satellites in space that transmit radio signals to users on Earth, with 47,000 units being used by the country; (2024)" }, "domestic": { "text": "fixed-line teledensity is 6 per 100; the mobile-cellular telephone is 135 mobile phones per 100 persons (2022)" }, "international": { "text": "country code - 380; landing point for the Kerch Strait Cable connecting Ukraine to Russia; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic TAE system and 3 Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic TEL project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems" } }, "Broadcast media": { "text": "Ukraine’s media landscape is dominated by oligarch-owned news outlets, which are often politically motivated and at odds with one another and/or the government; while polls suggest most Ukrainians still receive news from traditional media sources, social media is a crucial component of information dissemination in Ukraine; almost all Ukrainian politicians and opinion leaders communicate with the public via social media and maintain at least one social media page, if not more; this allows them direct communication with audiences, and news often breaks on Facebook or Twitter before being picked up by traditional news outlets; Kyiv created a unified news platform to broadcast news about the war following Russia's full-scale invasion; the government's \"United News\" television marathon is a round-the clock framework which untied the Ukrainian public broadcaster and top commercial TV channels' programming; Ukraine television serves as the principal source of news; the largest national networks are controlled by oligarchs: Studio 1+1 is owned by Ihor Kolomoyskyy; Inter is owned by Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Lyovochkin; and StarlightMedia channels (ICTV, STB, and Novyi Kanal) are owned by Victor Pinchuk;  a set of 24-hour news channels also have clear political affiliations: pro-Ukrainian government Channel 5 and Pryamyi are linked to President Petro Poroshenko; 24 is owned by opposition, but not pro-Russian, politicians; UA: Suspilne is a public television station under the umbrella of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine; while it is often praised by media experts for balanced coverage, it lags in popularity; Ukrainian Radio, institutionally linked to UA: Suspilne, is one of only two national talk radio networks, with the other being the privately owned Radio NV (2021)" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".ua" }, "Internet users": { "percent of population": { "text": "79% (2021 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "8.07 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "20 (2023 est.)" } }, "Communications - note": { "text": "a sorting code to expeditiously handle large volumes of mail was first set up in Ukraine in the 1930s (then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union); the sophisticated, three-part (number-letter-number) postal code system, referred to as an \"index,\" was the world's first postal zip code; the system functioned well and was in use from 1932 to 1939 when it was abruptly discontinued" } }, "Transportation": { "National air transport system": { "number of registered air carriers": { "text": "14 (2020)" }, "inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": { "text": "126" }, "annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "7,854,842 (2018)" }, "annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "75.26 million (2018) mt-km" } }, "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": { "text": "UR" }, "Airports": { "text": "148 (2024)" }, "Heliports": { "text": "42 (2024)" }, "Pipelines": { "text": "36,720 km gas, 4,514 km oil, 4,363 km refined products (2013)" }, "Railways": { "total": { "text": "21,733 km (2014)" }, "standard gauge": { "text": "49 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (49 km electrified)" }, "broad gauge": { "text": "21,684 km (2014) 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified)" } }, "Roadways": { "total": { "text": "169,694 km" }, "paved": { "text": "166,095 km (includes 17 km of expressways)" }, "unpaved": { "text": "3,599 km (2012)" } }, "Waterways": { "text": "1,672 km (2012) (most on Dnieper River)" }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "410 (2023)" }, "by type": { "text": "container ship 1, general cargo 83, oil tanker 14, other 312" } }, "Ports": { "total ports": { "text": "26 (2024)" }, "large": { "text": "3" }, "medium": { "text": "0" }, "small": { "text": "8" }, "very small": { "text": "15" }, "ports with oil terminals": { "text": "8" }, "key ports": { "text": "Berdyansk, Dnipro-Buzkyy, Feodosiya, Illichivsk, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Sevastopol, Yuzhnyy" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU; Zbroyni Syly Ukrayiny or ZSU): Ground Forces (Sukhoputni Viys’ka), Naval Forces (Viys’kovo-Mors’ki Syly, VMS), Air Forces (Povitryani Syly, PS), Air Assault Forces (Desantno-shturmovi Viyska, DShV), Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (UASOF), Unmanned Systems Forces, Territorial Defense Forces (Reserves)

Ministry of Internal Affairs: National Guard of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (includes Maritime Border Guard or Sea Guard) (2024)", "note": "note 1: in the event that martial law is declared, all National Guard units, with certain exceptions such as those tasked with providing for diplomatic security of embassies and consulates, would come under the command of the Ministry of Defense as auxiliary forces to the Armed Forces

note 2: the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) were formally established in July 2021; the TDF evolved from former Territorial Defense Battalions and other volunteer militia and paramilitary units that were organized in 2014-2015 to fight Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas; in January 2022, the TDF was activated as a separate military branch; it is organized into at least 25 brigades representing each of the 24 oblasts, plus the city of Kyiv" }, "Military expenditures": { "Military Expenditures 2021": { "text": "4% of GDP (2021 est.)" }, "Military Expenditures 2020": { "text": "4% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Military Expenditures 2019": { "text": "3.4% of GDP (2019 est.)" }, "Military Expenditures 2018": { "text": "3.1% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Military Expenditures 2017": { "text": "3.1% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: since Russia's invasion of the country in early 2022, defense spending has increased to more than 25% of GDP according to some estimates" }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { "text": "estimated 800,000 active Armed Forces personnel (2024)", "note": "note 1: following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President ZELENSKY announced a general mobilization of the country; prior to the invasion, approximately 200,000 active Armed Forces troops (125,000 Army; 25,000 Airborne/Air Assault Forces; 2,000 Special Operations Forces; 10,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force); approximately 50,000 National Guard; approximately 40,000 State Border Guard" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "prior to the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian military was equipped largely with Russian-origin and Soviet-era weapons systems; since the invasion, it has received considerable quantities of weapons, including Soviet-era and more modern Western systems, from European countries and the US; Ukraine also has a growing inventory of domestically-produced weapons and equipment (2024)" }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "18 years of age for voluntary service; conscription abolished in 2012, but reintroduced for men in 2014; 25 years of age for conscription; prior to the Russian invasion of February 2022, conscript service obligation was 12-18 months, depending on the service (2024)", "note": "note 1: following the Russian invasion in 2022, all nonexempt men ages 18-60 were required to register with their local recruitment offices and undergo medical screening for possible service; the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) accepts volunteers, 18-60 years of age; since the invasion, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have volunteered for the regular armed forces, the TDF, or to work in civilian defense activities 

note 2: women have been able to volunteer for military service since 1993; as of 2024, nearly 70,000 women were serving in the armed forces in both uniformed and civilian positions 

note 3: since 2015, the Ukrainian military has allowed foreigners and stateless persons, 18-45 (in special cases up to 60), to join on 3-5-year contracts, based on qualifications; following the Russian invasion in 2022, the military began accepting medically fit foreign volunteers on a larger scale, with an emphasis on persons with combat experience; wartime volunteers typically serve for 6 months" }, "Military deployments": { "text": "note: prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine had committed about 500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation" }, "Military - note": { "text": "the primary focus of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) is defense against Russian aggression; in February 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in what is the largest conflict in Europe since the end of World War II in 1945; as of 2024, the front line of the fighting stretched about 1,000 kilometers (some 600 miles) north and south in eastern and southern Ukraine; Russia’s forces have also launched missile and armed drone strikes throughout Ukraine, hitting critical infrastructure, including power, water, and heating facilities, as well as other civilian targets; Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, occupying Ukraine’s province of Crimea and backing separatist forces in the Donbas region with arms, equipment, and training, as well as special operations forces and regular troops, although Moscow denied their presence prior to 2022; the UAF has received considerable outside military assistance since the Russian invasion, including equipment and training, chiefly from Europe and the US 

Ukraine has a relationship with NATO dating back to the early 1990s, when Ukraine joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (1991) and the Partnership for Peace program (1994); the relationship intensified in the wake of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine conflict and Russian seizure of Crimea to include NATO support for Ukrainian military capabilities development and capacity-building; NATO and individual NATO countries further increased support to the Ukrainian military following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 (2024)" } }, "Space": { "Space agency/agencies": { "text": "State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU; established 1992 as the National Space Agency of Ukraine or NSAU; renamed in 2010) (2024)" }, "Space program overview": { "text": "SSAU/NSAU inherited a large and well-developed space program when it took over all of the former Soviet defense/space industrial industry that was located on the territory of Ukraine upon the country’s declaration of independence in 1991; prior to the 2014 Russia takeover of Crimea and support for separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region, Ukraine’s space efforts largely provided support to the Russian space program, including the production of satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rocket carriers and their components; today, it develops and produces SLVs/rocket carriers, spacecraft, satellites, and satellite sub-components both independently and jointly with numerous foreign space agencies and private space industry companies, including those of Brazil, Canada, China, the European Space Agency (ESA) and its member states (particularly Italy and Poland), Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia (curtailed after 2014), Turkey, and the US; prior to the full scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine was producing more than 100 SLVs, SLV stages, or SLV engines annually, and since 1991, over 160 rockets and more than 370 spacecraft had been manufactured by Ukraine or produced with its participation; as of 2022, SSAU had 16,000 employees and controlled 20 state-run corporations in Ukraine's “space cluster,” a region between the cities of Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Kyiv (note – Dnipro, known as Ukraine's “Rocket City,” was one of the Soviet Union’s main centers for space, nuclear, and military industries and played a crucial role in the development and manufacture of both civilian and military rockets); in 2019, the Ukrainian Parliament began allowing private companies to engage in space endeavors, including launching rockets into space and allowing companies to negotiate with foreign companies without the state’s approval; previously, only state-owned companies could do so (2024)", "note": "note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in the Space Programs reference guide" } }, "Transnational Issues": { "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "IDPs": { "text": "

1,461,700 (Russian-sponsored separatist violence in Crimea and eastern Ukraine) (2021); 3.67 million (2023) (since Russian invasion that started in February 2022); note – the more recent invasion total may reflect some double counting, since it is impossible to determine how many of the recent IDPs may also include IDPs from the earlier Russian-sponsored violence in Crimea and eastern Ukraine

" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "36,459 (2022); note - citizens of the former USSR who were permanently resident in Ukraine were granted citizenship upon Ukraine's independence in 1991, but some missed this window of opportunity; people arriving after 1991, Crimean Tatars, ethnic Koreans, people with expired Soviet passports, and people with no documents have difficulty acquiring Ukrainian citizenship; following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, thousands of Crimean Tatars and their descendants deported from Ukraine under the STALIN regime returned to their homeland, some being stateless and others holding the citizenship of Uzbekistan or other former Soviet republics; a 1998 bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Uzbekistan simplified the process of renouncing Uzbek citizenship and obtaining Ukrainian citizenship" } }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "

a transit country for non-domestically produced drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, bound for consumer markets in the European Union and Russia; overland corridors for the movement of these drugs exists, but Ukraine’s southern ports on the Black Sea, notably Odesa and Pivdennyi, are disrupted due to the war;  domestically produced amphetamine, methamphetamine, methadone, alpha-PVP, and new psychoactive substances (NPS) remain threats to Ukrainian society; production and consumption of cannabis remains significant" } } }