Ukraine savors independence, focus on economic revival

Ukraine is the second largest county in eastern Europe and is about the size of Texas when comparing to the United States, or about twice the size of Italy.

If you’re looking for it on a map, the bordering countries include Russia, Belarus, Poland and Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. After having been under Russian rule for years, Ukraine gained independence in 1991 and has been seeking democracy, prosperity and economic stability going forward for the past 27 years.

Although the Crimean Autonomous Republic, or the Crimea peninsula, is a part of the Ukraine, the Russian Federation returned in 2014, we’ll have to say this southern peninsula, along with about one-third of Luhans’k and Donets’k oblasts, is currently occupied by Russia. You can’t reflect on Ukraine for long and not think about the Chernobyl nuclear power station explosion in 1986 in the town of Pripyat, where a radioactive plume spread across Europe. Around 30,000 people were evacuated, and a little over 32 years later, the site remains inhabitable to this day, except for limited amounts of time.

Although not in a current conflict, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe and has the world’s third largest nuclear weapons arsenal. According to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book, the military is composed of ground forces, high mobility assault troops, naval forces and air forces. There is a compulsory military service requirement of 20-27 years of age.

The Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) building in Kyiv is home to Ukraine's
450-member parliament. Photo credit: Central Intelligence Agency

Ukraine has a Semi-presidential republic form of government, with the current leader of state being Petro Poroshenko, who has been in power since 2014, with his term ending in 2019. This form of government calls for the leadership of the state and government to be separate. Therefore, Volodymyr Groysman, the prime minister elected in 2016, serves as head of government.

Ukraine by the numbers

Category	Statistics
Population	44.1 million
Capital City (Kiev)	2.96 million
Area in square miles	375,028
Achieved independence	1991
Government	semi-presidential republic
Currency	Hryvnia
Birth rate	10.3/1,000 population
Death rate	14.4/1,000 population
Language	Ukrainian 67.5%; Russian 29.6%
Dominant religion	Orthodox Christianity
Ethnic Groups	Ukrainian 77.8%; Russian 17.3%
Median age	40.6 years
Gross domestic Product (GDP)	$368.8 billion
Labor force	17.99 million
Unemployment	9.5 %
Telephone land lines	7.1 million
Telephone mobile subscribers	55.7 million
Internet users	23.2 million
Registered air carriers	17
Airports	187

Source: Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook

Approaching the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, the official ceremonial residence of the president of Ukraine. The palace is one of two magnificent Baroque buildings in Ukraine designed by the renowned architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli (the other is Saint Andrew's Church, in Kyiv).
Photo credit: Central Intelligence Agency

The capital city of Kiev, or Kyiv for the traditional spelling, with a population of around 2.96 million, is the seventh-largest city in Europe and has a time difference of seven hours ahead of Washington, DC. Since gaining their independence, the Ukraine has been striving for a better economy and it seems that U.S. investors are taking notice. With an abundance of natural resources, such as coal, metals and fossil fuels, along with an emerging hi-tech industry, Ukraine is moving forward to improve its business environment. The American Chamber, founded in 1992 and with offices in 44 European countries, is currently playing an important in promoting the Ukrainian economy.

Regarding the latter mention of technology, the Ukraine has gotten a reputation throughout Europe for being a haven for IT skills, with scores of programmers, engineers and outsourcing centers. Among U.S. firms utilizing Ukraine’s pool of IT talent, estimated to be around 90,000, Google and Oracle are leading the way. The founders of WhatsApp and PayPal have roots in the Ukraine, as well as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Even with the presence of Russia in the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine seems determined to move forward toward economic revival by using its natural resources and strong IT presence to secure its place in world markets.