Ukraine

Ukraine
Status	Independent State
Capital	Kiev
Land Area	579 320km21
Location	Europe
Population	44.9m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	71.13yrs (2017)3
GNI	$7 361 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	UA, UKR, 8045
Internet Domain	.ua6
Currency	Hryvnia (UAH)7
Telephone	+3808

1. Overview
2. Ukraine National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Human Rights, Equality and Freedom
5. Peace Versus Instability
6. Religion and Beliefs
7. The Internet
8. Public Health Issues
9. Children's Health
10. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
11. Links

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1. Overview

#russia

“Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to achieve a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006. An early legislative election, brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007, saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, as head of an "Orange" coalition, installed as a new prime minister in December 2007. Viktor YANUKOVUYCH was elected president in a February 2010 run-off election that observers assessed as meeting most international standards. The following month, Ukraine's parliament, the Rada, approved a vote of no-confidence prompting Yuliya TYMOSHENKO to resign from her post as prime minister. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Big, diverse and largely undiscovered, Ukraine is one of Europe´s last genuine travel frontiers, a poor nation rich in colourful tradition, warm-hearted people and off-the-map experiences. Ukraine is big. In fact it´s Europe´s biggest country (not counting Russia, which isn´t entirely in Europe) and packs a lot of diversity into its borders. You can be clambering around the Carpathians in search of Hutsul festivities, sipping Eastern Europe´s best coffee in sophisticated Lviv and partying on Odessa´s beaches, all in a few days.

A diverse landscape obviously throws up a whole bunch of outdoorsy activities. How about mountain biking or hill walking in the Carpathians, bird spotting in the Danube Delta or water sports on the Kyiv Sea? Many Ukrainians love nothing more than wandering their country´s vast forests, foraging for berries and mushrooms or picnicking by a meandering river.

History is all around you wherever you go in this vast land, whether it be among the Gothic churches of Lviv, the Stalinist facades of Kyiv, the remnants of the once-animated Jewish culture of West Ukraine or the more recent Soviet high-rises just about anywhere. After the latest political turmoils, this divided nation faces an uncertain future but its people share one thing: a talent for survival.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Ukraine National and Social Development

#human_development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
82	Macedonia	82
83	Algeria	83
84	Armenia	84
85	Ukraine	84
86	Jordan	86
87	Peru	87
88	Thailand	87
89	Ecuador	89
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Denmark	83.6
2	Finland	83.1
3	Sweden	82.6
	...
72	Tajikistan	56.8
73	Turkey	56.5
74	Montenegro	56.5
75	Ukraine	56.5
76	Peru	56.4
77	Seychelles	56.3
78	Philippines	56.3
79	Kyrgyzstan	56.0
	World Avg	55.4
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

#birth_control #demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #overpopulation #population #Ukraine

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
141	Georgia	29.7
142	Montenegro	30.0
143	Belarus	30.3
144	Ukraine	30.8
145	Australia	31.3
146	Slovakia	31.6
147	Albania	31.8
148	Norway	32.2
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
43	Equatorial Guinea	14.9%
44	Seychelles	14.6%
45	New Zealand	14.5%
46	Ukraine	14.4%
47	Israel	14.0%
48	Swaziland	13.4%
49	Lithuania	13.2%
50	Romania	13.1%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
82	Dominican Rep.	2.51
83	Lithuania	1.49
84	Kazakhstan	2.52
85	Ukraine	1.48
86	Nicaragua	2.52
87	Belarus	1.47
88	Slovenia	1.47
89	Italy	1.47
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5%
2	Monaco	71.6%
3	UAE	70.0%
	...
40	Djibouti	13.0%
41	Seychelles	12.8%
42	Grenada	12.1%
43	Ukraine	11.6%
44	Moldova	11.4%
45	Belarus	11.4%
46	Iceland	11.3%
47	UK	11.2%
	World Avg	9.2%
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
108	Belarus	71.46
109	Egypt	71.33
110	Suriname	71.28
111	Ukraine	71.13
112	Azerbaijan	70.90
113	Kyrgyzstan	70.79
114	N. Korea	70.52
115	Trinidad & Tobago	70.52
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		Population17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
27	Tanzania	47.7m
28	Colombia	47.6m
29	Spain	46.8m
30	Ukraine	44.9m
31	Kenya	42.7m
32	Argentina	41.1m
33	Poland	38.3m
34	Algeria	36.5m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

Ukraine's population is predicted to fall to 40 515 000 by 2030. Developed countries with falling populations face a pension's crises, whereby an incresingly ageing population must be cared for by fewer and fewer workers. Economic stability can be maintained by increasing foreign workers from younger countries. This country has a fertility rate of 1.48. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Human Rights, Equality and Freedom

#equality #freedom #human_rights #politics #tolerance #ukraine

Ukraine does relatively well in ensuring human rights and freedom, compared to many other countries. Ukraine comes in the best 20 for the year from which women could participate in democracy₁₈. It does better than average in its nominal commitment to Human Rights₁₉, commentary in Human Rights Watch reports₂₀ (but low for Europe), opposing gender inequality₂₁ (but high for Europe), LGBT equality₂₂ (but low for Europe) and in its Global Peace Index rating₂₃ (but bad for Europe). Ukraine does not succeed in everything, however. It does worse than average in fighting anti-semitic opinions₂₄, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms₂₅ (amongst the highest in Europe), eliminating modern slavery₂₆, supporting press freedom₂₇ (amongst the worst in Europe) and in fighting corruption₂₈ (amongst the lowest in Europe).

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

• Human Rights and Freedom in Ukraine

5. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism #Ukraine

Peacekeeping and Security (2017)29
Pos.		Lower is better Rank29
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
	...
105	Laos	105
106	Mozambique	106
107	Poland	107
108	Ukraine	108
109	Belgium	109
110	Panama	110
111	Equatorial Guinea	111
112	Botswana	112
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees and UN Treaties (2017)29
Pos.		Lower is better Rank29
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
	...
54	Macedonia	54
55	Zambia	55
56	Lithuania	56
57	Ukraine	57
58	Croatia	58
59	Bangladesh	59
60	Seychelles	60
61	Philippines	61
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Global Peace Index (2012)23
Pos.		Lower is better23
1	Iceland	1.11
2	New Zealand	1.24
3	Denmark	1.24
	...
68	Macedonia	1.94
69	Guyana	1.94
70	Cuba	1.95
71	Ukraine	1.95
72	Tunisia	1.96
73	Cyprus	1.96
74	Gambia	1.96
75	Gabon	1.97
	World Avg	2.02
q=157.

"The 2012 Global Peace Index is the sixth edition of the world's leading study on global levels of peacefulness. The GPI ranks 158 nations using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, which gauge three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation. By generating new information on the state of peace at the national and global level, the Institute for Economics and Peace hopes to make a valuable contribution to better understanding how civil society, researchers, policymakers, and government can create a more peaceful society"₂₃. The most peaceable countries in the world are Iceland, New Zealand and Denmark₂₃ and the worst are Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan₂₃.

Impact of Terrorism (2019)30
Pos.		Lower is better Score30
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
	...
124	Burkina Faso	5.42
125	Myanmar (Burma)	5.51
126	Mozambique	5.54
127	Ukraine	5.55
128	Niger	5.60
129	USA	5.69
130	Kenya	5.76
131	Sudan	5.81
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

6. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion

Religiosity (2009)31
Pos.		Lower is better %31
1	Estonia	16
2	Sweden	17
3	Denmark	19
	...
19	Canada	42
20	S. Korea	43
21	Kazakhstan	43
22	Ukraine	46
23	Slovenia	47
24	Spain	49
25	Azerbaijan	50
26	Israel	51
	World Avg	75.1
q=114.

Disbelief In God (2007)32
Pos.		Higher is better %32
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
22	New Zealand	22
23	Canada	22
24	Latvia	20
25	Ukraine	20
26	Mongolia	20
27	Austria	18
28	Slovakia	17
29	Switzerland	17
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

The Ukrainian government does better than Russia when it comes to secularism; "There is no parallel to the united and dominant Russian Orthodox Church, or to the support given to the latter by the Russian government. The Ukrainian government is religiously neutral, allowing an efflorescence of religious pluralism"₃₃. Although many folk do declare themselves to belong to a religious denomination, 62% also say that they're not religious when asked in opinion-polls₃₃.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₃₄:

Christian	83.8%
Muslim	1.2%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.1%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	14.7%

By adding up the Pew Forum data for the major monotheistic religions we can see that these make up 85.1% of the population. Yet there are simply too many who disbelieve in God for this to be true (20%). This is due to the so-called 'Census Effect', whereby many put down a religion for cultural reasons rather than because it reflects their beliefs. In highly Christian countries, as many as half of those who say they're a Christian lack any connection to a Church, and do not hold Christian beliefs (such as believing in God!).

It appears that when asked "What religion are you" many give pollsters the 'correct' answer despite how they actually feel, and despite what they actually believe. Although 85.4% of the populace say they belong to a religion, only 46% say that they are religious when the question is phrased as "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".

For more on this phenomenon, see:

• "Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls" by Vexen Crabtree (2009)

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Protestant 2.2%, Jewish 0.6%, other 3.2% (2006 est.)₃₅.

The sociologist of religion, Peter L. Berger, sheds some light on the differences between some of the Ukrainian denominations:

“The majority is Orthodox, but split into three mutually hostile factions: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Autocephalous Church. Please do not count on me to explain all these differences, except that the split is politically significant in terms of pro-Russian versus pro-Western groups. There are Uniats (who practice eastern rites but recognize the primacy of Rome) and also standard Roman Catholics, especially in the western part of Ukraine.”

"Religion and Other Curiosities" by Peter L. Berger (2012)₃₃

Although a shameful number of Ukrainians collaborated with the German Nazi regime during the Holocaust of the 1940s, in modern times there is now (thankfully) "a significant renascence of Jewish culture"₃₆.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?

7. The Internet

#internet #it_security #politics #the_internet #Ukraine

Freedom On The Internet (2012)37
Pos.		Lower is better37
1	Estonia	10
2	USA	12
3	Germany	15
	...
8	UK	25
9	S. Africa	26
10	Argentina	26
11	Ukraine	27
12	Brazil	27
13	Kenya	29
14	Georgia	30
15	Nigeria	33
	World Avg	46.7
q=47.

Internet Users (2016)38
Pos.		Higher is better38
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
109	Mexico	45%
110	Kenya	45%
111	Belize	45%
112	Ukraine	44%
113	Philippines	44%
114	Jamaica	43%
115	Ecuador	43%
116	Thailand	43%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)39
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio39
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
68	S. Africa	0.1
69	Jersey	0.1
70	Sudan	0.1
71	Ukraine	0.1
72	Lithuania	0.1
73	Vanuatu	0.1
74	Iran	0.1
75	Zambia	0.1
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

IT Security (2013)40
Pos.		Lower is better40
1	Ireland	0.11
2	Luxembourg	0.11
3	Belize	0.11
	...
61	UK	1.34
62	Mongolia	1.42
63	Uganda	1.44
64	Ukraine	1.44
65	Nepal	1.45
66	Afghanistan	1.45
67	Germany	1.46
68	Netherlands	1.47
	World Avg	0.98
q=81.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

8. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #genetics #health #mental_health #obesity #public_health #smoking #sociology #suicide #UK #Ukraine

Ukraine is a pretty unhealthy country. Ukraine does better than average in its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₂₉ (but high for Europe) and in its adolescent birth rate₂₁ (but high for Europe). When it comes to most other metrics, Ukraine does not do well. It does worse than average for the prevalence of overweight adults₄₁ and in its alcohol consumption rate₄₂ (still good for Europe). And finally, it sits amongst the bottom 20 in its suicide rate₄₃, its smoking rate₄₄ and in its immunizations take-up₄₅ (the lowest in Europe). The number of overweight adults has increased by 14% during the past 40 years.

Alcohol Consumption (2016)42
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita42
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
127	Botswana	8.4
128	Trinidad & Tobago	8.4
129	Vietnam	8.4
130	Ukraine	8.6
131	Netherlands	8.7
132	Croatia	8.9
133	Cameroon	8.9
134	Canada	8.9
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking₄₆ and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink₄₇ are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies₄₈ via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"₄₉. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"₅₀. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)29
Pos.		Lower is better Rank29
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
52	Slovakia	52
53	Bulgaria	53
54	Panama	54
55	Ukraine	55
56	S. Africa	56
57	Slovenia	57
58	Morocco	58
59	Cyprus	59
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults (2016)41
Pos.		Lower is better %41
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
	...
122	Nicaragua	58.2
123	Norway	58.3
124	Poland	58.3
125	Ukraine	58.4
126	Cuba	58.5
127	Italy	58.5
128	Luxembourg	58.7
129	Panama	58.8
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₅₁. Most Western countries are facing an obesity epidemic. Our cultures are having to change to compensate for widespread ill-health. It is costing our health systems a massive amount of money, and is having negative effects on national economies. The situation has persisted for a suitable length of time for our very perceptions to change; opinions on "normal weights" for people and "average sizes" for clothes has shot up₅₂. Over 2 in 3 adults in the UK are overweight₅₂ and this costs the NHS £5.1 billion per year₅₃ and "costs Britain's economy £47bn a year; more than war, terrorism or armed violence"₅₄. We are forgetting how to be healthy.

The causes are not genetic. Most people who say obesity "runs in their family" are wrong. The rate of increase in obesity is many, many times too fast to be accounted for by a change in inherited genes₅₅. Our culture and lifestyle choices are to blame. The causes of the modern obesity epidemic are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products, poor knowledge of nutrition. Most of this is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheaper mass-produced food. Even some so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₅₆.

Smoking Rates (2014)44
Pos.		Lower is better44
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
162	Japan	1 713
163	Hungary	1 759
164	Estonia	1 775
165	Ukraine	1 854
166	Jordan	1 855
167	Austria	1 988
168	S. Korea	2 073
169	Greece	2 086
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate (2013)43
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100k43
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
	...
79	Finland	39
80	Belgium	39.1
81	Slovenia	44
82	Ukraine	44.8
83	Latvia	48.2
84	Japan	49.4
85	Hungary	50.6
86	Kazakhstan	52.4
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

9. Children's Health

#health #parenting #population #Ukraine #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)21
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100021
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
70	Jordan	23.2
71	Russia	23.4
72	New Zealand	23.6
73	Ukraine	24.1
74	India	24.5
75	Samoa	25.0
76	Rwanda	26.3
77	Iran	26.7
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)45
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %45
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
185	Vanuatu	65.5
186	Guinea	63.3
187	Syria	62.4
188	Ukraine	55.2
189	Chad	52.5
190	Nigeria	50.0
191	Central African Rep.	49.4
192	Somalia	46.0
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

10. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries