Kyiv (Kiev is the transliteration from Russian)
Ukraine
Key facts and a structured country profile. π§Ύ Change log π True Size
35,661,826 (2024 est.)
603,550 sq km
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Belarus, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
π§ Background
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which was the largest and most powerful state in Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, the Russian Empire absorbed most Ukrainian territory. After czarist Russia collapsed in 1917, Ukraine -- which has long been known as the region's "bread basket" for its agricultural production -- achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but the country was reconquered and endured a Soviet rule that engineered two famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over eight million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for seven to eight million more deaths. In 1986, a sudden power surge during a reactor-systems test at Ukraine's Chernobyl power station triggered the worst nuclear disaster in history, releasing massive amounts of radioactive material. Although Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991 as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) dissolved, democracy and prosperity remained elusive, with the legacy of state control, patronage politics, and endemic corruption stalling efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. In 2004 and 2005, a mass protest dubbed the "Orange Revolution" forced the authorities to overturn a presidential election and allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH became prime minister in 2006 and was elected president in 2010. In 2012, Ukraine held legislative elections that Western observers widely criticized as corrupt. In 2013, YANUKOVYCH backtracked on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU -- in favor of closer economic ties with Russia -- and then used force against protestors who supported the agreement, leading to a three-month protestor occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in 2014 led to multiple deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. Pro-West President Petro POROSHENKO took office later that year; Volodymyr ZELENSKYY succeeded him in 2019. Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in 2014, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. In response, the UN passed a resolution confirming Ukraine's sovereignty and independence. In mid-2014, Russia began an armed conflict in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces. International efforts to end the conflict failed, and by 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded. On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated the conflict by invading the country on several fronts, in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. Despite Ukrainian resistance, Russia has laid claim to four Ukrainian oblasts -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia -- although none is fully under Russian control. The international community has not recognized the annexations. The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with over six million Ukrainian refugees recorded globally. It remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the conflict in Syria). President ZELENSKYY has focused on boosting Ukrainian identity to unite the country behind the goals of ending the war through reclaiming territory and advancing Ukraineβs candidacy for EU membership.
πΊοΈ Geography
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Belarus, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
49 00 N, 32 00 E
AsiaEurope
603,550 sq km
579,330 sq km
24,220 sq km
Almost four times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Texas
5,581 km
Belarus 1,111 km; Hungary 128 km; Moldova 1,202 km; Poland 498 km; Romania 601 km; Russia 1,944 km, Slovakia 97 km
2,782 km
12 nm
200 nm
200 m or to the depth of exploitation
Temperate continental; Mediterranean 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; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
Mostly fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the extreme south of the Crimean Peninsula
Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Black Sea 0 m
175 m
Iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land
71.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 56.8% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 1.5% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 13% (2023 est.)
17.3% (2023 est.)
10.4% (2023 est.)
1,000 sq km (2022)
Dunay (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Dnipro (Dnieper) river mouth (shared with Russia [s] and Belarus) - 2,287 km; Dnister (Dniester) river source and mouth (shared with Moldova) - 1,411 km; Vistula (shared with Poland [s/m] and Belarus) - 1,213 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
(Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km), Don (458,694 sq km), Dnieper (533,966 sq km)
Densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; notable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa
Occasional floods; occasional droughts
Strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe after Russia
π₯ People and Societyβ¬οΈ Top
35,661,826 (2024 est.)
17,510,149
18,151,677
Ukrainian(s)
Ukrainian
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% (2001 est.)
Ukrainian (official) 67.5%, Russian (regional language) 29.6%, other (includes Crimean Tatar, Moldovan/Romanian, and Hungarian) 2.9% (2001 est.)
Π‘Π²iΡΠΎΠ²Π° ΠΠ½ΠΈΠ³Π° Π€Π°ΠΊΡiΠ² β Π½Π°ΠΉΠΊΡΠ°ΡΠ΅ Π΄ΠΆΠ΅ΡΠ΅Π»ΠΎ Π±Π°Π·ΠΎΠ²ΠΎΡ ΡΠ½ΡΠΎΡΠΌΠ°ΡΡΡ. (Ukrainian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Orthodox (includes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), and the Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)), Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish (2013 est.)
12.3% (male 2,278,116/female 2,122,500)
67.8% (male 12,784,928/female 11,376,460)
19.9% (2024 est.) (male 2,447,105/female 4,652,717)
47.6 (2024 est.)
18.2 (2024 est.)
29.4 (2024 est.)
3.4 (2024 est.)
44.6 years (2025 est.)
41.4 years
49.2 years
2.42% (2025 est.)
6.24 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
17.61 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
35.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; notable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa
70.1% of total population (2023)
-0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
3.017 million KYIV (capital), 1.421 million Kharkiv, 1.008 million Odesa, 942,000 Dnipropetrovsk, 888,000 Donetsk (2023)
1.06 male(s)/female
1.07 male(s)/female
1.12 male(s)/female
0.53 male(s)/female
0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
26.2 years (2019 est.)
15 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
9.7 deaths/1,000 live births
7.6 deaths/1,000 live births
70.5 years (2024 est.)
65.4 years
75.8 years
1.22 children born/woman (2025 est.)
0.59 (2025 est.)
Urban: 90.8% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 93.6% of population (2022 est.)
Urban: 9.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 6.4% of population (2022 est.)
8% of GDP (2021)
10.6% of national budget (2021 est.)
3.53 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
6.3 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
24.1% (2016)
5.69 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
2.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
0.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
20.4% (2025 est.)
35.5% (2025 est.)
8% (2025 est.)
5.1% of GDP (2021 est.)
12.7% national budget (2021 est.)
100%
100%
100% (2021)
13 years (2021 est.)
13 years (2021 est.)
14 years (2021 est.)
πΏ Environmentβ¬οΈ Top
Air and water pollution; land degradation; solid waste management; biodiversity loss; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 nuclear accident in Chornobyl'
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
Temperate continental; Mediterranean 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; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
71.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 56.8% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 1.5% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 13% (2023 est.)
17.3% (2023 est.)
10.4% (2023 est.)
70.1% of total population (2023)
-0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
106.847 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
45.512 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
24.488 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
36.847 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
15.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
1,003.4 kt (2022-2024 est.)
341.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)
409.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)
70.9 kt (2019-2021 est.)
15.242 million tons (2024 est.)
4.5% (2022 est.)
1.66 billion cubic meters (2022)
2.188 billion cubic meters (2022)
1.031 billion cubic meters (2022)
175.28 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
ποΈ Governmentβ¬οΈ Top
None
Ukraine
None
Ukraina
Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The name derives from the Old East Slavic or Old Russian word ukraina, meaning "borderland," which was used to describe the area on medieval Russia's border at the time of the Tatar invasion in the 13th century
Semi-presidential republic
Kyiv (Kiev is the transliteration from Russian)
50 26 N, 30 31 E
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
The origin of the name is unclear; traditionally, the name comes from a Prince Kiy, who is said to have founded the city in the 9th century
24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities** (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol), Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad (Kropyvnytskyi), Kyiv**, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol**, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn (Lutsk), Zakarpattia (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr
Civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Several previous; latest adopted and ratified 28 June 1996
Proposed by the president of Ukraine or by at least one third of the Supreme Council members; adoption requires simple majority vote by the Council and at least two-thirds majority vote in its next regular session; adoption of proposals relating to general constitutional principles, elections, and amendment procedures requires two-thirds majority vote by the Council and approval in a referendum; constitutional articles on personal rights and freedoms, national independence, and territorial integrity cannot be amended
Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
No
At least one parent must be a citizen of Ukraine
No
5 years
18 years of age; universal
President Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (since 20 May 2019)
Prime Minister Yulia SVYRYDENKO (since 17 July 2025)
Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, approved by the Verkhovna Rada
President directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister selected by the Verkhovna Rada
31 March and 21 April 2019
2019: Volodymyr ZELENSKYY elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (Servant of the People) 30.2%, Petro POROSHENKO (BPP-Solidarity) 15.6%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 13.4%, Yuriy BOYKO (Opposition Platform-For Life) 11.7%, 35 other candidates 29.1%; percent of vote in the second round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY 73.2%, Petro POROSHENKO 24.5%, other 2.3%; Denys SHMYHAL (independent) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 291-59 2014: Petro POROSHENKO elected president in first round; percent of vote - Petro POROSHENKO (independent) 54.5%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 12.9%, Oleh LYASHKO (Radical Party) 8.4%, other 24.2%; Volodymyr HROYSMAN (BPP) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 257-50
Scheduled for March/April 2024, but not held because Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022
Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)
Unicameral
450 (all directly elected)
Mixed system
Full renewal
5 years
7/21/2019
Servant of the People (254); Opposition Platform - For Life (43); Fatherland (26); European Solidarity (25); Independents (46); Other (30)
21.2%
May 2025
Supreme Court of Ukraine or SCU (consists of 100 judges, organized into civil, criminal, commercial and administrative chambers, and a grand chamber); Constitutional Court (consists of 18 justices); High Anti-Corruption Court (consists of 39 judges, including 12 in the Appeals Chamber)
Supreme Court judges recommended by the High Qualification Commission of Judges (a 16-member state body responsible for judicial candidate testing and assessment and judicial administration), submitted to the High Council of Justice, a 21-member independent body of judicial officials; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; High Anti-Corruption Court judges are selected by the same process, with one addition β a majority of a combined High Qualification Commission of Judges and a 6-member Public Council of International Experts must vote in favor of potential judges in order to recommend their nomination to the High Council of Justice; Constitutional Court justices appointed - 6 each by the president, the Congress of Judges, and the Verkhovna Rada; judges serve 9-year nonrenewable terms
Courts of Appeal; district courts
European Solidarity or YeS Fatherland or VOB Holos Servant of the People or SN
Ambassador Olha STEFANISHYNA (since 19 September 2025)
3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
[1] (202) 349-2963
[1] (202) 333-0817
Emb_us@mfa.gov.ua https://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en
Chicago, New York, San Francisco
Ambassador (vacant); ChargΓ© dβAffaires Ambassador Julie S. DAVIS (since 5 May 2025)
4 A. I. Igor Sikorsky Street, 04112 Kyiv
5850 Kyiv Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850
[380] (44) 521-5000
[380] (44) 521-5544
Kyivacs@state.gov https://ua.usembassy.gov/
Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CICA (observer), CIS (participating member, has not signed the 1993 CIS charter), EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus); 1199 (Principality (later Kingdom) of Ruthenia formed); 1648 (establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate); 22 January 1918 (from Soviet Russia)
Independence Day, 24 August (1991)
Description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and yellow meaning: the colors date back to medieval heraldry, but they are sometimes said to represent grain fields under a blue sky
Tryzub (trident), sunflower
Blue, yellow
"Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished)
Paul CHUBYNSKYI/Mikhail VERBYTSKYI
Music adopted 1991, lyrics adopted 2003; current version of the anthem is the first verse of CHUBYNSKYI's poem, plus the chorus
8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)
Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (c); Lviv Historic Center (c); Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, Chernivtsi (c); Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese, Sevastopol (c); Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region (c); Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n); Struve Geodetic Arc (c); The Historic Centre of Odesa (c)
πΉ Economyβ¬οΈ Top
Lower-middle-income, non-EU, Eastern European economy; key wheat and corn exporter; gradual recovery after 30% GDP contraction at start of war; damage to infrastructure and agriculture balanced by consumer and business resilience in western Ukraine; international aid has stabilized foreign exchange reserves, allowing managed currency float; continued progress on anti-corruption reforms
$577.583 billion (2024 est.)
$561.23 billion (2023 est.)
$531.796 billion (2022 est.)
2.9% (2024 est.)
5.5% (2023 est.)
-28.8% (2022 est.)
$16,300 (2024 est.)
$15,900 (2023 est.)
$13,800 (2022 est.)
$190.741 billion (2024 est.)
6.5% (2024 est.)
12.8% (2023 est.)
20.2% (2022 est.)
7.1% (2024 est.)
19% (2024 est.)
60.6% (2024 est.)
62.4% (2024 est.)
37.9% (2024 est.)
18.9% (2024 est.)
-0.3% (2024 est.)
29.4% (2024 est.)
-48.3% (2024 est.)
Maize, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, milk, barley, soybeans, rapeseed, tomatoes (2023)
Industrial machinery, ferrous and nonferrous metals, automotive and aircraft components, electronics, chemicals, textiles, mining, construction
4.1% (2024 est.)
20.539 million (2021 est.)
9.9% (2021 est.)
9.5% (2020 est.)
8.2% (2019 est.)
19.1% (2021 est.)
18.1% (2021 est.)
20.4% (2021 est.)
1.6% (2020 est.)
25.6 (2020 est.)
41.7% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
6.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
4.3% (2020 est.)
21.7% (2020 est.)
6.3% of GDP (2024 est.)
8.3% of GDP (2023 est.)
10.4% of GDP (2022 est.)
$86.185 billion (2023 est.)
$121.657 billion (2023 est.)
58.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
17.5% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
-$13.749 billion (2024 est.)
-$9.564 billion (2023 est.)
$7.976 billion (2022 est.)
$56.114 billion (2024 est.)
$51.28 billion (2023 est.)
$57.517 billion (2022 est.)
Poland 12%, Romania 9%, Turkey 7%, China 6%, Spain 6% (2023)
Corn, seed oils, wheat, iron ore, soybeans (2023)
$92.025 billion (2024 est.)
$89.159 billion (2023 est.)
$83.254 billion (2022 est.)
China 16%, Poland 14%, Germany 8%, Turkey 6%, USA 4% (2023)
Refined petroleum, cars, natural gas, packaged medicine, plastic products (2023)
$43.781 billion (2024 est.)
$40.51 billion (2023 est.)
$28.506 billion (2022 est.)
$90.003 billion (2023 est.)
Hryvnia (UAH) per US dollar -
40.152 (2024 est.)
36.574 (2023 est.)
32.342 (2022 est.)
27.286 (2021 est.)
26.958 (2020 est.)
β‘ Energyβ¬οΈ Top
100% (2022 est.)
60.297 million kW (2023 est.)
89.402 billion kWh (2023 est.)
6.1 billion kWh (2023 est.)
3.28 billion kWh (2023 est.)
10.347 billion kWh (2023 est.)
32.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
50.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
4.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
9.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
15 (2025)
2 (2025)
13.11GW (2025 est.)
55% (2023 est.)
4 (2025)
19.603 million metric tons (2023 est.)
25.012 million metric tons (2023 est.)
32,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
5.442 million metric tons (2023 est.)
34.375 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
3,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
192,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
395 million barrels (2021 est.)
17.681 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
19.705 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
95.994 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
2.028 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
1.104 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)
57.856 million Btu/person (2023 est.)
π‘ Communicationsβ¬οΈ Top
1.434 million (2023 est.)
4 (2023 est.)
50.3 million (2023 est.)
135 (2021 est.)
Media landscape dominated by oligarch-owned news outlets; United News created for 24-hour news about the war with Russia, a joint effort from the Ukrainian public broadcaster and top commercial TV channels; Ukraine Radio's Suspilne and privately owned Radio NV are the national talk radio networks (2021)
.ua
82% (2023 est.)
8.07 million (2023 est.)
20 (2023 est.)
π Transportationβ¬οΈ Top
UR
152 (2025)
44 (2025)
21,733 km (2014)
49 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (49 km electrified)
21,684 km (2014) 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified)
410 (2023)
Container ship 1, general cargo 83, oil tanker 14, other 312
26 (2024)
3
0
8
15
8
Berdyansk, Dnipro-Buzkyy, Feodosiya, Illichivsk, Kerch, Kherson, Mariupol, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Sevastopol, Yuzhnyy
π‘οΈ Military and Securityβ¬οΈ Top
Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU; Zbroyni Syly Ukrayiny or ZSU): Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces, Air Assault Forces, Marine Corps, Special Operations Forces, Unmanned Systems Forces, Territorial Defense Forces (Reserves) Ministry of Internal Affairs: National Guard of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (includes Maritime Border Guard or Sea Guard), National Police of Ukraine (2025)
4% of GDP (2021 est.)
4.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2019 est.)
3.1% of GDP (2018 est.)
3.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
Estimated 850,000-1 million active Defense Forces (2025)
Prior to the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian military was equipped largely with Russian-origin and Soviet-era weapons systems; since the invasion, it has received considerable quantities of weapons, including Soviet-era and more modern Western systems, from European countries and the US; Ukraine also has a growing inventory of domestically produced armaments (2025)
18 years of age for voluntary service for men and women; 25 years of age for conscription for men; 18-24 months service obligation (2025)
Note: prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine had committed about 500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation
The primary focus of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) is defense against Russian aggression; in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in what is the largest conflict in Europe since the end of World War II in 1945; as of 2025, the front line of the fighting stretched about 1,000 kilometers (some 600 miles) north and south in eastern and southern Ukraine; Russiaβs forces have also launched missile and armed drone strikes throughout Ukraine, hitting critical infrastructure, including power, water, and heating facilities, as well as other civilian targets; Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, occupying Ukraineβs province of Crimea and backing separatist forces in the Donbas region with arms, equipment, and training, as well as military personnel, although Moscow denied their presence prior to 2022; the UAF has received outside military assistance since the Russian invasion, including equipment and training, chiefly from Europe and the US Ukraine has a relationship with NATO dating back to the early 1990s, when Ukraine joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (1991) and the Partnership for Peace program (1994); the relationship intensified in the wake of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine conflict and Russian seizure of Crimea to include NATO support for Ukrainian military capabilities development and capacity-building; NATO and individual NATO countries further increased support to the Ukrainian military following Russiaβs 2022 invasion (2025)
π°οΈ Spaceβ¬οΈ Top
State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU; established 1992 as the National Space Agency of Ukraine or NSAU and renamed in 2010) (2025)
The country inherited a large, well-developed space program when it gained independence in 1991, taking over all the former Soviet defense/space industry that was located on its territory; the modern program includes the production of satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rocket carriers, satellites, and related components; prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, the country was producing more than 100 SLVs, SLV stages, or SLV engines annually; has worked with numerous foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia (curtailed after 2014), Turkey, and the US, as well as the ESA, the EU, and their member states (particularly Italy and Poland); has about 20 state-run space industries; in 2019, the Ukrainian Parliament began allowing private companies to engage in space activities (2025)
1995 - first domestically produced remote sensing (RS) satellite (Sich-1) launched on Ukrainian Tsyklon-3 rocket 1997 - first Ukrainian astronaut in space on US Space Shuttle 1999 - first launch of Dnipro-1, a domestically produced satellite launch vehicle (SLV) 2008 - first launch of Zenit-3SLB, a domestically produced SLV 2014 - launched first domestically produced microsatellite (PolyITAN-1) 2020 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for space and lunar exploration 2021 - first successful launch of joint Ukrainian-US commercial light SLV (Alpha) 2022 - domestically produced RS microsatellite (Sich 2-30) launched by US 2024 - first Ukrainian woman to suborbital space on US commercial spacecraft
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2,876 (2024 est.)
3,665,165 (2024 est.)
10,910 (2024 est.)
Source: Factbook JSON archive.