Ukraine at a Glance
Ukraine:basic facts
Politics:
- 1917: the collapse of Tsarist Russia brings about a short-lived period of Ukrainian independence (1917-1920).
- 1920: Ukraine becomes a part of the USSR and suffers from two politically generated famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over eight million people die.
- 1939-1945: In World War II some seven to eight million Ukrainians lost their lives.
- 1991: independence for Ukraine at the time of the break up of the USSR.
- Today: the legacy of state control largely remains, and efforts to reform the economy, make progress with privatisation and enhance civil liberties have been slow.
Economic:
- Ukraine is a low income country with GNI per capita of US$ 970. An estimated 68% of Ukrainians live in urban areas. Population is decreasing by 1% per annum.
- There has been economic growth since 2000, but living standards are falling. Official GDP is at 40% of its 1990 level. Poverty has soared: in 1999, 29% of the population were living below the poverty line (World Bank) and 3% lived in extreme
Structural:
- Head of State: President Viktor Yuschenko
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko.
- Cabinet of Ministers proposed by the President and approved by the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament).
- Unicameral Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) (450 seats elected by proportional system)
- Ukraine has 27 regions: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 24 provinces (oblasts) and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
Policies on women and children
Ukraine has made a number of commitments to improve the wellbeing of children - particularly by signing and ratifying:
- The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991
- The Optional Protocol to the UN CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2003,
- The UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2003
- The Optional Protocol to the UN CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict in 2004
- The UN Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime in February 2004
Ukraine was one of the countries that initiated the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) in 2001. In 2002 Ukraine endorsed the UN Special Session on Children’s Outcome Document entitled A World Fit for Children.
As of November 2008, the Government of Ukraine has not yet passed a law on universal salt iodisation to prevent iodine deficiency disorders that puts at risk 80 per cent of all newborns.
The Government of Ukraine has signed - but not ratified - the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. A study conducted by UNICEF in 2004 revealed that baby food manufacturers market their products in 65 per cent of all medical institutions in Ukraine.
