Ukraine Flag

Local name: Ukrayina

Capital: Kiev (Kyyiv)

Population: 46,710,816

Government: republic

Currency: hryvnia (UAH)

Land size: 603,700 sq km

Topography: 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 extreme south

Typical foods:

Major exports: ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products

Official language: Ukrainian 67%

Other languages spoken: Russian 24%, small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities

Religions: Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Orthodox (no particular jurisdiction) 16%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38%

Literacy rate: 99.7%

Male/Female Ratio: 0.86 male(s) to every 1 female

Life expectancy: 69.98 years

Ethnic groups: 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%

Internet users: 5,278,100

Famous people: Milla Jovovich, Boris Yeltsin