Economy
The base of the economy of Ukraine is in the industry, a sector that contributes 34.6% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and encompasses more than a quarter of the workforce. The vast mineral resources of the republic are the foundation of the industry. Ukraine is the world’s fourth largest steel producer and has a broad and diverse industrial base. However, economic policy since the fall of communism has had serious consequences for Ukraine’s competitiveness; In 1992, the country entered a process of hyperinflation, which reached 1,445% in 1995. After a considerable delay, in the early 1990s the process of economic reform began in Ukraine; In January 1993, prices in food, transport and other services were liberalized, although food products remained low compared to prices in neighboring countries.
The government issued certificates of privatization and developed a model for future privatization in the western city of Lvov. A transitional currency – the karbovanet – was issued and plans were made to issue a final currency, the hryvnia. However, in the second half of 1993 the privatization reform process was paralyzed due to bureaucratic resistance; As a consequence, 95% of all properties still remained under state control, and the government attempted to maintain direct dominance over the economy by resorting to central planning techniques, such as price controls.
In order to promote economic cooperation with other former Soviet republics and improve economic conditions, Ukraine became a partner of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1993.
Ukraine’s gross national product was $ 60.201 billion in 2004, which was equivalent to $ 1,940 per capita. As a consequence of the economic crisis, GDP in 1993 fell by 16%, in 1994 by 25% and in 1995 by 10%. In 2006 it was 106,469 million dollars. The national budget for 1995 established an income of 16,200 million dollars and expenses of 18,500 million. Agriculture accounts for 8.7% of GDP and 19% of the workforce. As a country located in Europe according to FRANCISCOGARDENING, Ukraine is the world’s largest producer of beets and has a grain production comparable to that of France.
Other important crops are potatoes (potatoes), vegetables, fruits, sunflower and flax. Livestock is also important. However, agricultural production has declined since independence due to the maintenance of the collective system on farms and the decline in domestic food consumption. In 2006 annual production included 14 million tonnes of wheat and 19.5 million tonnes of tubers. In the same year, there were 6.51 million heads of cattle, 7.05 million pigs, 872,000 sheep and 758,000 goats.
Demography
Population: 45,509,182 (2007)
Annual growth: -0.2% (1985-2000)
Estimate for the year 2015: 41,849,282,000 (2004)
Annual growth towards 2015: -1.1% (2004)
Population density: 75 habs. per km² (2007)
Urban population: 67.5% (2007)
Urban growth: -0.9% (2005-2010)
Estim. of urban population in 2015: 68.9% (2004)
Culture
The Ukrainian culture for many years of its history developed as popular, where folklore, popular traditions that added a special and colorful magic to the culture occupied a very important place. This was demonstrated above all in art – in popular songs, dances, decorative art, and applied arts. Only thanks to the preservation and continuation of the traditions, the roots of which lead to the culture of the Kievan Rus, the uprising of the Ukrainian culture became possible in the 16th-17th centuries and the cultural revival in the 19th.
All of this can be seen very well in the work of famous Ukrainian writers, such as Grygoryi Scovorodá, Feofán Procopovych, Panteleymón Culish, Tarás Shevchenco. In their philosophical works they managed the essence and conditions of human happiness. The essence of the Ukrainians is manifested in their embroidered objects, folk songs and dances, pottery, weaving, etc.
With the conclusion of the union of Lublin in 1569 the Ukrainian lands came into the possession of the Rich Pospolyta. The position of the representatives of the Ukrainian intelligence was not the same. Some of them were moving away from the Ukrainian language, traditions, Orthodox faith, accepting all Polish. Although Prince Konstiantýn Ostrozkyi, Prince Yuriy Slutskyi, Galshka Hulechivna stood out for their patronage in favor of Ukrainian culture. The Cossacks intervened in defense of national traditions, church, language.
In the 17th century, iconographic art was developing, although the first icons appeared as early as the 10th century. In ancient times in every Ukrainian house there was an icon, adorned with a more beautiful embroidered towel. Icons were used during all important events in family life. There are miraculous icons, thanks to which many people were able to be cured. From Ukraine the baptism of the eastern world is spread.
Currently on the territory of Ukraine are located more than 20,000 national parks, ecological reserves, historical places and monuments, archaeological sites, works of ancient architecture, palaces, castles and gardens, as well as more than 300 museums. 80% of the most valuable monuments from the time of the Kiev Rus empire (IX-XII centuries) are found on the Ukrainian land. The best known of them, the Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Kyivo-Pecherska Laura are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage records. The central part of the city of Lviv along with the ensemble of the St. Yuriy Cathedral and the Vysokyi Zamok mountain are also inscribed here. In the UNESCO International Network of Biosphere Forbidden Areas such biosphere forbidden areas such as: “Chornomorskyi”, “Ascania-Nova”, “Carpatskyi”, “Dunayskyi”, “Shatskyi” are also registered.
