GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area: total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total: 4,558 km
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
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 0
m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese,
natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, 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: NA
Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies
of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation
contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl'
Nuclear Power Plant
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air
Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur
85, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic position at the crossroads
between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
