Ukraine, which was once behind the iron curtain
and which evoked a lot of interest, tourist and otherwise,
is now open to the world at large. In Ukraine one sees it’s
magnificent and glorious past come alive through its monuments,
museums, churches and cathedrals. In fact, Kyiv/Kiev, the
capital of Ukraine has been compared to Rome, the eternal
city, by Honore de Balzac, a famous French novelist. However,
Ukrainians do not live in the past, but in fact have a bold
and vibrant lifestyle which is comparable to that of any
other European nation. Ukraine, in Eastern Europe is one
of Europe’s largest countries, with a land area of
603,700 sq. km. The capital of Ukraine is Kiev. Its neighbour
in the east is the
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Russian
Federation and Belarus lies to the north of Ukraine. Poland,
Slovakia, Hungary and Romania share Ukraine’s border
to the west and to the south of Ukraine lies the Black Sea
and the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine is divided into
twenty four regions called oblasts, the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol. Each of these
is a separate administrative unit and, other than Crimea,
has a governor who is appointed by the President. The Autonomous
Republic of Crimea, though subordinate to the central government
of Ukraine, has its own government, parliament and constitution.
Its population stood at 46.6
million people. Ukraine’s urban population is 67.2%,
while its rural population is 32.8%, making it an urban country.
The Donetsk region has the highest population density while
Chernihiv has the lowest.
The ethnicity or race of this
population is mainly Ukrainian (77.8%), next is Russian (17.3%)
and the rest are Belorussian, Moldovan, Crimean, Tartar, Bulgarian,
Hungarian, Romanian, Polish and Jewish. Ukrainian is the official
language of the country; however a sizeable population also
speaks Russian. The religions practised in Ukraine are Ukrainian
Orthodox, Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Ukrainian Autocephalous
Orthodox, Protestant and Jewish; however a large part of the
population does not practise any religion.
Ukraine holds a place among
the thirty largest world economies. Initially after breaking
away from the Soviet Union, there were some teething problems
and the inflation level was phenomenally high. However, prices
stabilised with the introduction of hryvnia, Ukraine’s
new currency.
In 2006, the annual inflation
rate in Ukraine was 9.1%. It showed a decrease of 1.2% from
2005. Growth in GDP in 2006 was 7.1% and all key industries
showed a positive trend in industrial output. The major growth
however, was from industries dealing with transport, mining
industry, manufacturing industry, etc. Foreign Direct Investments
(FDI) per capita in 2006 was 462 USD. FDI came from 118 companies
of which the major players were Germany, Austria, USA, UK
and Russian Federation.
Ukraine boasts of a
mild climate, is rich in natural resources and has a favourable
geographical location. It has a good consumer market, an educated
labour force, a well developed transport infrastructure and
a highly developed base for scientific research and development.
Over the last five years, Ukraine has seen a steady increase
in its economic growth and hence makes an ideal country to
invest in. |
