Travel Info: Visit Ukraine

» Ukraine is subdivided into twenty-four oblasts (provinces)
  and one autonomous republic (Crimea).

Capital: Kiev
Offical Language: Ukrainians
Area: 603,700   SQ KM
Population: 47,732,079
Currency: Hryvnia
Calling Code: 380

» Ukraine has a mostly temperate continental climate, though a more Mediterranean climate is found on the southern Crimean coast. Precipitation is disproportionately distributed; it is highest in the west and north and lesser in the east and southeast. Winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland. Summers are warm across the greater part of the country, but generally hot in the south. Ukraine now depends on Russia for most energy supplies, especially natural gas, although lately it has been trying to diversify its sources.

» Ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8% of the population. The minorities include significant groups of ethnic Russians 17.3%, Belarusian (0.6%), Moldavians (0.5%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Romanians (0.3%), Poles (0.3%), Jews (0.2%), Armenians (0.2%), Greeks (0.2%) and Tatars (0.2%). Ukrainian is the only official state language.

The dominant religion in Ukraine is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which is currently split between three Church bodies. The distant second is the Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which practices similar Liturgical rite to Eastern Orthodoxy, but is in communion with the Catholic see and recognizes the primacy of the Roman Pope as head of the Church. There are also smaller Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim communities.

» Ukraine is a country on the crossroads between central and eastern Europe, between north and south. It borders Russia and is not far from Turkey, it has mountain ranges, suitable for skiing and hiking in the Carpathian Mountains, nature (fishing and hunting) and a coastline on the Black Sea. Ukraine is a country where they grow wine farms, a country with a fascinating capital Kiev with Saint Sophia Cathedral and broad boulevards, and other famous cities like the fascinating harbour town Odessa, with the old city of Lviv in the west, and with the Crimea, a little "continent" of its own and the most popular place for tourists, with warm climate, mountains, plains and old cities like Sevastopol or Yalta - place of the famous peace conference. Ukrainian cuisine has a rich history and offers a wide variety of original dishes. Famous for visitors are also cruising tours by ship on Dnipro River from Kyiv to the coast.