428 km, Romania (southwest) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia
1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km
Coastline:
2,782 km
Maritime claims:
NA
International disputes:
potential future border disputes with Moldova and Romania in Northern
Bukovina and southern Odes'ka Oblast'; potential dispute with Moldova
over former southern Bessarabian area; potential dispute with Russia
over Crimea; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has
reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any
other nation
Climate:
temperate continental; subtropical 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; summers are warm across the greater
part of the country, hot in the south
Terrain:
most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaux,
mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the
Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
Natural resources:
iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulphur, graphite,
titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber
Land use:
arable land:
56%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
12%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
30%
Irrigated land:
26,000 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues:
unsafe drinking water; air and water pollution; deforestation;
radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at
Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Environmental Modification,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but
not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note:
strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second
largest country in Europe

@Ukraine, People

Population:
51,846,958 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.05% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
12.34 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
12.6 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
20.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
69.99 years
male:
6