Ukraine: basic facts

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Key statistics

Population (2008) 46,400,000
Population under 18 years of age (2008) 8,300,000
Life expectancy at birth (2007) 68,25
GNI per capita (US $, 2008) 1,920
Under-five mortality rate (U5MR) (for every 1,000 live births, 2008) 24 
Infant mortality rate (IMR,2007) 20
Annual no. of births (thousands, 2007) 472,7
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 2007) 23,5
Gross primary school enrolment (%, 2007) 96.9
Estimated prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adults (age 15-49) (%, 2007) 1.63
Rate of transmission of HIV  from mother to child (2008)
Number of children living with HIV (confirmed diagnosis) (2008) 1,968
Number of children in residential institutions (2006) 80,000

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