- Country name
- conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ukraine
local long form: none
local short form: Ukraina
former: Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
etymology:
the name derives from the Old East Slavic or Old Russian word ukraina, meaning "borderland," which was used to describe the area on medieval Russia's border at the time of the Tatar invasion in the 13th century - Government type
- semi-presidential republic
- Capital
- name: Kyiv (Kiev is the transliteration from Russian)
geographic coordinates: 50 26 N, 30 31 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
etymology: the origin of the name is unclear; traditionally, the name comes from a Prince Kiy, who is said to have founded the city in the 9th century - Administrative divisions
- 24 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika), and 2 municipalities** (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status; Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol), Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad (Kropyvnytskyi), Kyiv**, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sevastopol**, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn (Lutsk), Zakarpattia (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr
note 1: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers; exceptions show the administrative center name in parentheses
note 2: the United States does not recognize Russia's annexation or renaming of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the municipality of Sevastopol; it similarly does not recognize the annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson - Legal system
- civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
- Constitution
- history: several previous; latest adopted and ratified 28 June 1996
amendment process:
proposed by the president of Ukraine or by at least one third of the Supreme Council members; adoption requires simple majority vote by the Council and at least two-thirds majority vote in its next regular session; adoption of proposals relating to general constitutional principles, elections, and amendment procedures requires two-thirds majority vote by the Council and approval in a referendum; constitutional articles on personal rights and freedoms, national independence, and territorial integrity cannot be amended - International law organization participation
- has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Citizenship
- citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Ukraine
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years - Suffrage
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (since 20 May 2019)
head of government: Prime Minister Yulia SVYRYDENKO (since 17 July 2025)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, approved by the Verkhovna Rada
election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister selected by the Verkhovna Rada
most recent election date: 31 March and 21 April 2019
election results:
2019: Volodymyr ZELENSKYY elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (Servant of the People) 30.2%, Petro POROSHENKO (BPP-Solidarity) 15.6%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 13.4%, Yuriy BOYKO (Opposition Platform-For Life) 11.7%, 35 other candidates 29.1%; percent of vote in the second round - Volodymyr ZELENSKYY 73.2%, Petro POROSHENKO 24.5%, other 2.3%; Denys SHMYHAL (independent) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 291-59
2014: Petro POROSHENKO elected president in first round; percent of vote - Petro POROSHENKO (independent) 54.5%, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO (Fatherland) 12.9%, Oleh LYASHKO (Radical Party) 8.4%, other 24.2%; Volodymyr HROYSMAN (BPP) elected prime minister; Verkhovna Rada vote - 257-50
expected date of next election: scheduled for March/April 2024, but not held because Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022
note: a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC was created in 1992 and tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a presidential administration helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president - Legislative branch
- legislature name: Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)
legislative structure: unicameral
number of seats: 450 (all directly elected)
electoral system: mixed system
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 7/21/2019
parties elected and seats per party: Servant of the People (254); Opposition Platform - For Life (43); Fatherland (26); European Solidarity (25); Independents (46); Other (30)
percentage of women in chamber: 21.2%
expected date of next election: May 2025
note 1: the next legislative election is expected to take place after the Russian-Ukrainian War ends
note 2: voting not held in Crimea and parts of two Russian-occupied eastern oblasts leaving 26 seats vacant; although this brings the total to 424 elected members (of 450 potential), article 83 of the constitution mandates that a parliamentary majority consists of 226 seats - Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
Supreme Court of Ukraine or SCU (consists of 100 judges, organized into civil, criminal, commercial and administrative chambers, and a grand chamber); Constitutional Court (consists of 18 justices); High Anti-Corruption Court (consists of 39 judges, including 12 in the Appeals Chamber)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court judges recommended by the High Qualification Commission of Judges (a 16-member state body responsible for judicial candidate testing and assessment and judicial administration), submitted to the High Council of Justice, a 21-member independent body of judicial officials; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; High Anti-Corruption Court judges are selected by the same process, with one addition – a majority of a combined High Qualification Commission of Judges and a 6-member Public Council of International Experts must vote in favor of potential judges in order to recommend their nomination to the High Council of Justice; Constitutional Court justices appointed - 6 each by the president, the Congress of Judges, and the Verkhovna Rada; judges serve 9-year nonrenewable terms
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; district courts - Political parties
- European Solidarity or YeS
Fatherland or VOB
Holos
Servant of the People or SN - Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Olha STEFANISHYNA (since 19 September 2025)
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 349-2963
FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817
email address and website:
emb_us@mfa.gov.ua
https://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, San Francisco - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Julie S. DAVIS (since 5 May 2025)
embassy: 4 A. I. Igor Sikorsky Street, 04112 Kyiv
mailing address: 5850 Kyiv Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850
telephone: [380] (44) 521-5000
FAX: [380] (44) 521-5544
email address and website:
kyivacs@state.gov
https://ua.usembassy.gov/ - International organization participation
- Australia Group, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CICA (observer), CIS (participating member, has not signed the 1993 CIS charter), EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
note: Ukraine is an EU candidate country and must complete accession criteria before being granted full membership - Independence
- 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus); 1199 (Principality (later Kingdom) of Ruthenia formed); 1648 (establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate); 22 January 1918 (from Soviet Russia)
- National holiday
- Independence Day, 24 August (1991)
note: 22 January 1918, the day Ukraine first declared its independence from Soviet Russia, is now celebrated as Unity Day - Flag
- description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and yellow
meaning: the colors date back to medieval heraldry, but they are sometimes said to represent grain fields under a blue sky - National symbol(s)
- tryzub (trident), sunflower
- National color(s)
- blue, yellow
- National anthem(s)
- title: "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished)
lyrics/music: Paul CHUBYNSKYI/Mikhail VERBYTSKYI
history: music adopted 1991, lyrics adopted 2003; current version of the anthem is the first verse of CHUBYNSKYI's poem, plus the chorus - National heritage
- total World Heritage Sites: 8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales:
Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (c); Lviv Historic Center (c); Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, Chernivtsi (c); Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese, Sevastopol (c); Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region (c); Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n); Struve Geodetic Arc (c); The Historic Centre of Odesa (c)