Ukraine Maps

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe, following Russia, which it shares borders with. It also shares a border with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Spanning an area of 600,000 square kilometers, or 230,000 square miles, the country is home to a population of around 41 million. The largest, and capital city is Kyiv. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine was able to regain its independence and was able to declare itself natural. The country is also a part of NATO and Partnership for Peace. The government is a unitary republic and the current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while the current prime minister is Denys Shmyhal.

The landscape of Ukraine mainly consists of plateaus, fertile plains, as well as numerous rivers. The only mountains that can be found in the country are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, and the Crimean Mountains in the east. The highest point of Ukraine can be found in the Carpathian Mountains, which is the peak of Hoverla – reaching an altitude of 2,061 meters (or 6,762 feet). Ukraine deals with numerous environmental issues. Air and water pollution is very common, as well as deforestation. Radiation contamination is also very common due to the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant incident. There are six terrestrial ecoregions in Ukraine, and they are as follows: Central European mixed forests, Crimean Submediterranean forest complex, East European forest steppe, Pannonian mixed forests, Carpathian montane conifer forests, and Pontic steppe. There are more than 45,000 animal species on record in Ukraine. Some of the larger predatory animals are wolves, foxes, wildcats, martens, roe deer, wild pigs, and sometimes elk and mouflons. Major bird species include black and hazel grouse, owls, gulls, as well as partridges. There are also many migrating birds, like wild geese, ducks, and storks.

Despite the fact that Ukraine’s economy is known as a free-market economy, it is the poorest country in Europe by GDP. In 2021, agriculture was Ukraine’s largest economic sector, and the country was also the world’s largest wheat exporter. In fact, Ukraine is also known as the “breadbasket of Europe”. Other relevant agricultural exports include maize, barley, and canola. Prior to the war between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine was the 8th most visited country in Europe due to its ideal geographic landscape for skiing, hiking, as well as fishing.

The population of Ukraine is heavily urbanized, with about 67% of the total population living in urban areas. The overall life expectancy within the country is around 68 years for men and 77.8 years for women. In 1993, just years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s population hit an all-time high with 52 million inhabitants. However, a number of factors come into the sudden decrease of population. Ukraine’s death rate would exceed its birth rate, mass emigration, low-quality health care, as well as poor living conditions all come into play to a lower population. Along with this, 4.1 million Ukrainians would flee the country following the Russian-Ukrainian war.