f fertile plains (steppes) and
plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians),
and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt,
sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury,
timber, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 58%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 18%
other: 9% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 26,050 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water;
air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the
northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe
and Asia; second-largest country in Europe

@Ukraine:People

Population: 49,153,027 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 4,482,754; female 4,296,206)
15-64 years: 68% (male 16,018,331; female 17,509,078)
65 years and over: 14% (male 2,243,266; female 4,603,392) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.83% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 9.03 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 16.48 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 21.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.98 years
male: 60.39 years
female: 71.85 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian

Ethnic groups: Ukrainian 73%, Russian