Ukraine: Introduction

Total Population: 45,870,700

Annual Growth Rate: -0.4%

Density: 79 Inhabitants/km²

Urban Population: 68.1%

Population of main cities (including suburbs): Kiev (3,400,000); Charkiv (1,830,000); Dnipropetrovsk (1,360,000); Odessa (1,080,000); Donetsk (1,850,000).

Ethnic Origins: Ukrainians 77.8%, Russians 17.3%, Others 4.9%.

Official Language: Ukrainian

Other Languages Spoken: The Constitution protects minority languages, especially Russian which is spoken in the center, south and in the east of the country. Indeed, Russian speaking people are the most significant national minority in Ukraine (22%). Otherwise, the administration only uses Ukrainian. However, the majority of civil servants are bilingual, even if some of them prefer using Russian. In Crimea, the language spoken is Tatar. It is highly recommended to speak only Ukrainian in the western part of the country.

Business Language(s): Russian remains the language of business except in the west of the country. Although there are more and more people with some knowledge of English, an interpreter is often required.

Religion: Orthodox: 83,7% (Kyiv Patriarchate: 50,4%, Moscow Patriarcate: 26,1%, Autocephalous Orthodox: 7,2%), Ukrainian Greek Catholic: 8%, Roman Catholic 2,2%, Protestant: 2,2%, Jewish: 0,6%, Other: 3,3%.

Literacy Rate: 99.4%

Area: 603,550 km²

Type of State: Parliamentary democracy.

Type of Economy: Developing market economy.
Importance of the agricultural sector (10% of GDP); economy greatly dependent on Russian gas; the country has been hardly hit by the economic crisis

HDI*: 0.710/1

HDI (World Rank): 69/169

Telephone Code:
To Make a Call From Ukraine, Dial 00
To Make a Call to Ukraine, Dial +380

Internet Suffix: .ua

Computers: 3.9 per 100 Inhabitants

Telephone Lines: 28.7 per 100 Inhabitants

Internet Users: 22.5 per 100 Inhabitants