Population Information

Population: 47,732,079

Population Growth Rate: -0.66%

Infant mortality rate: 20.61 deaths/1,000 live births

Economic Information

Gross Domestic Product: $260.4 billion

GDP growth rate: 9.4%

GDP per capita: $5,400

Unemployment rate: 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers

Estimated underemployment:

Population below poverty line: 29%

Main export products: ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products

Main import countries: Russia 35.9%, Germany 9.4%, Turkmenistan 7.2%

Debt: $16.13 billion (External)
28.7% of GDP (Public)

Ukraine was the second-ranking Soviet republic in industrial and agricultural production, after Russia. Long known as the "breadbasket of Europe," Ukraine traditionally had a highly developed agricultural sector because of its vast, fertile lands. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought a dramatic rise in energy costs and a reduction in demand for Ukraine's products, causing a catastrophic decline in production. The value of Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2002 was $41.5 billion. Agriculture, which includes forestry and fishing, accounted for 15 percent; industry, which includes mining, manufacturing, and construction, accounted for 38 percent; and trade and other services accounted for 47 percent.