Ukraine Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east

Geographic coordinates

49 00 N, 32 00 E

Map references

AsiaEurope

Area

total: 603,550 sq km

land: 579,330 sq km

water: 24,220 sq km

note: approximately 43,133 sq km, or about 7.1% of Ukraine's area, is Russian occupied; the seized area includes all of Crimea and about one-third of both Luhans'k and Donets'k oblasts

Area - comparative

almost four times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Texas

Area comparison map

Land boundaries

total: 5,581 km

border countries (7): Belarus 1111 km, Hungary 128 km, Moldova 1202 km, Poland 498 km, Romania 601 km, Russia 1944 km, Slovakia 97 km

Coastline

2,782 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 m or to the depth of exploitation

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; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south

Terrain

mostly fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the extreme south of the Crimean Peninsula

Elevation

highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m

lowest point: Black Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 175 m

Natural resources

iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land

Land use

agricultural land: 71.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 56.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 13.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 16.8% (2018 est.)

other: 12% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

21,670 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

175.28 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; noteable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa

Natural hazards

occasional floods; occasional droughts

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic- Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

Geography - note

strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe after Russia

NOTE: The information regarding Ukraine on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ukraine 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ukraine 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.