lied equipment and raw
materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions of the
former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially
natural gas. Shortly after the implosion of the USSR in December
1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a
legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to
reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform
efforts and led to some backtracking. Output in 1992-98 fell to less
than half the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation
to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Since his election in July
1994, President KUCHMA has pushed economic reforms, maintained
financial discipline, and tried to remove almost all remaining
controls over prices and foreign trade. The onset of the financial
crisis in Russia dashed Ukraine's hopes for its first year of
economic growth in 1998 due to a sharp fall in export revenue and
reduced domestic demand. Although administrative currency controls
will be lifted in early 1999, they are likely to be reimposed when
the hryvnia next comes under pressure. The currency is only likely
to collapse further if Ukraine abandons tight monetary policies or
threatens default. Despite increasing pressure from the IMF to
accelerate reform, significant economic restructuring remains
unlikely in 1999.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$108.5 billion (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate: -1.7% (1998 est.)

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$2,200 (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 14%
industry: 30%
services: 56% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: 50% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 20.8% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (yearend 1998 est.)

Labor force: 22.8 million (yearend 1997)

Labor force--by occupation: industry and construction 32%,
agriculture and forestry 24%, health, education, and culture 17%,
trade and distribution 8%, transport and communication 7%, other 12%
(1996)

Unemployment rate: 3.7% officially registered; large number of
unregistered or underemployed workers (December 1998)

Budget:
revenues: $18 billion
expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1997 est.)

Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals,
machinery and transport equipment