Europe

Ukraine

Last reviewed: 21 August 2009

Country information

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Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea. Border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km.
Geographic coordinates: 50 00 N, 31 00 E (Kyiv)
Area: total: 603,700 sq km; land: 574,246 sq km; water: 29,454 sq km
Land boundaries: total: 4,558 km
Coastline: 2,782 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in West and North, lesser in 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, hot in the south.
Terrain: most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Black Sea 0m; highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulphur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land.
Land use: arable land: 58%; permanent crops: 2%; permanent pastures: 13%; forests and woodland: 18%; other: 9% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 26,050 sq km (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: n/a