Ukraine

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Humans have inhabited Ukraine since at least 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, it was the site of early Slavic expansion and later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. Kievan Rus' became the largest and most powerful realm in Europe in the 10th and 11th centuries, but gradually disintegrated into rival regional powers before being destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century.

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Name

The name of Ukraine is frequently interpreted as coming from the old Slavic term for 'borderland' as is the word krajina.

Another interpretation is that the name of Ukraine means "region" or "country".

In the English-speaking world during most of the 20th century, Ukraine (whether independent or not) was referred to as "the Ukraine". This is because in Russian, the word ukraina means 'borderland' so the definite article would be natural in the English language; this is similar to Nederlanden, which means 'low lands' and is rendered in English as "the Netherlands".

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History

Evidence for the earliest securely dated hominin presence in Europe comes from 1.4 million-year-old stone tools from Korolevo, in western Ukraine. Settlement by modern humans in Ukraine and its vicinity dates back to 32,000 BC, with evidence of the Gravettian culture in the Crimean Mountains. By 4,500 BC, the Neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was flourishing in wide areas of modern Ukraine, including Trypillia and the entire Dnieper-Dniester region. Ukraine is a probable location for the first domestication of the horse.

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Geography

Ukraine is the second-largest European country, after Russia, and the largest country entirely in Europe. Lying between latitudes 44° and 53° N, and longitudes 22° and 41° E., it is mostly in the East European Plain. Ukraine covers an area of 603,550 square kilometres (233,030 sq mi), with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi).

The landscape of Ukraine consists mostly of fertile steppes (plains with few trees) and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper, Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Bug as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov.

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Politics

Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The Constitution of Ukraine was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes out of 450 votes possible (300 ayes minimum). All other laws and other normative legal acts of Ukraine must conform to the constitution. The right to amend the constitution through a special legislative procedure is vested exclusively in the parliament.

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Economy

In 2021, agriculture was the biggest sector of the economy. Ukraine is one of the world's largest wheat exporters. It remains among the poorest countries in Europe with the lowest nominal GDP per capita. Despite improvements, as in Moldova corruption in Ukraine remains an obstacle to joining the EU; the country was rated 104th out of 181 in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025. In 2021, Ukraine's GDP per capita by purchasing power parity was just over $14,000.

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Demographics

Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country had an estimated population of over 41 million people, and was the eighth-most populous country in Europe. It is a heavily urbanised country, and its industrial regions in the east and southeast are the most densely populated—about 67% of its total population lives in urban areas. At that time Ukraine had a population density of 69.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (180 inhabitants/mi2), and the overall life expectancy in the country at birth was 73 years (68 years for males and 77.8 years for females).

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Culture

Ukrainian customs are heavily influenced by Orthodox Christianity, the dominant religion in the country. Gender roles also tend to be more traditional, and grandparents play a greater role in bringing up children, than in the West. The culture of Ukraine has also been influenced by its eastern and western neighbours, reflected in its architecture, music and art.

The Communist era had quite a strong effect on the art and writing of Ukraine.

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