Ukraine

Ukraine Україна (Ukrainian)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Державний Гімн України Derzhavnyi Himn Ukrainy "State Anthem of Ukraine"
Show globe Show map of Europe Topographic map of Ukraine with borders and cities Territory controlled by Ukraine (dark green) Russian-occupied territories (light green)
Capital and largest city	Kyiv 49°N 32°E / 49°N 32°E / 49; 32
Official language and national language	Ukrainian[1]
Ethnic groups (2001)[2]	78% Ukrainians 17% Russians 4.9% other
Religion (2018)[3]	87.3% Christianity 11.0% no religion 0.8% other 0.9% unanswered
Demonym(s)	Ukrainian
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic
• President	Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Prime Minister	Denys Shmyhal
• Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada	Ruslan Stefanchuk
Legislature	Verkhovna Rada
Formation
• Kievan Rus'	882
• Galicia–Volhynia	1199
• Cossack Hetmanate	18 August 1649
• People's republic	20 November 1917
• Soviet republic	10 March 1919
• UN membership	24 October 1945
• Independence declared	24 August 1991
• Current constitution	28 June 1996
Area
• Total	603,628[4] km2 (233,062 sq mi) (45th)
• Water (%)	3.8[5]
Population
• 2024 estimate	33,443,000[6] (36th)
• Density	60.9/km2 (157.7/sq mi) (126th)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$655.583 billion[6] (49th)
• Per capita	$19,603[6] (102nd)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$184.099 billion[6] (58th)
• Per capita	$5,504[6] (111th)
Gini (2020)	25.6[7] low inequality
HDI (2022)	0.734[8] high (100th)
Currency	Hryvnia (₴) (UAH)
Time zone	UTC+2[9] (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on	Right
Calling code	+380
ISO 3166 code	UA
Internet TLD	.ua .укр

Ukraine^[a] is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country^[b] after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast.^[c][10] Ukraine also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary, Romania and Moldova^[d] to the southwest; and the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast.^[e] Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa. Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian.

Humans have inhabited Ukraine since 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, it was the site of early Slavic expansion and later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. Kievan Rus' became the largest and most powerful realm in Europe in the 10th and 11th centuries,^[11] but gradually disintegrated into rival regional powers before being destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia.

The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century but was partitioned between Russia and Poland before being absorbed by the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a human-made famine. During World War II, Ukraine wasoccupied by Germany and endured major battles and atrocities, resulting in 7 million civilians killed, including most Ukrainian Jews.

Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved and declared itself neutral.^[12] A new constitution was adopted in 1996 as the country transitioned to a free market liberal democracy amid endemic corruption and a legacy of state control.^[13] The Orange Revolution of 2004–2005 ushered electoral and constitutional reforms. Resurgent political crises prompted a series of mass demonstrations in 2014 known as the Euromaidan, leading to a revolution, at the end of which Russia unilaterally occupied and annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in Donbas with Russian-backed separatists and Russia. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.^[14][15][16]

Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic. Ukraine has a transition economy and remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, while corruption remains a significant issue.^[17][18] Due to its extensive fertile land, the country is an important exporter of grain.^[19] Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs. Its military is the sixth largest in the world with the eighth largest defence budget, and operates one of the world's largest and most diverse drone fleets. Ukraine is a founding member of the United Nations and a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organisation, and the OSCE. It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO.^[20]

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