Economy - overview After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most importanteconomic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four timesthe output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generatedmore than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms providedsubstantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics.Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied equipment and raw materialsto industrial and mining sites in other regions of the former USSR. Shortlyafter the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, the Ukrainian Governmentliberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, butwidespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislaturesoon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output in 1992-96fell precipitously to less than half the 1991 level. Loose monetary policiespushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Since his electionin July 1994, President KUCHMA has pushed a comprehensive economic reformprogram, maintained financial discipline, and tried to remove almost all remainingcontrols over prices and foreign trade. Implementation of KUCHMA's economicagenda is encountering considerable resistance from parliament, entrenchedbureaucrats, and industrial interests. However, if KUCHMA succeeds in implementingaggressive market reforms during 1997, the economy should reverse its downwardtrend, with real growth occurring by late 1997 and into 1998.

GDP purchasing power parity - $161.1 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolatedfrom World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - real growth rate -10% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,170 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture : 14%
industry: 45%
services: 41% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 40% (yearend 1996)

Labor force
total: 23 million (January 1996)
by occupation: industry and construction 33%, agriculture and forestry 21%, health,education, and culture 16%, trade and distribution 7%, transport and communication7%, other 16% (1992)

Unemployment rate 1% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployedworkers (December 1996)

Budget
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transportequipment, chemicals, food-processing (especially sugar)

Industrial production growth rate -5.1% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 54.24 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 181 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita 3,487 kWh (1996)

Agriculture - products grain, sugar beets, vegetables; meat, milk

Exports
total value : $18.6 billion (1996 est.)
commodities: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, machineryand transport equipment, grain, meat
partners: Russia, Belarus, US, Germany, China (1995)

Imports
total value : $19.4 billion (1996 est.)
commodities: energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals, textiles
partners: Russia, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Germany, Switzerland

Debt - external $8.8 billion (including $4.5 billion to Russia) (late 1995 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $220 million (1993)
note : commitments, 1992-95, $4.5 billion ($4.1 billion drawn)

Currency on 2 September 1996, Ukraine introduced the long-awaited hryvnia (pluralhryvni) as its national currency, replacing the karbovanets (in circulationsince 12 November 1992) at a rate of 100,000 karbovantsi to 1 hryvnia

Exchange rates hryvnia per US$1 - 1.8592 (November 1996), 1.4731 (1995), 0.3275 (1994),0.0453 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Ukraine on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ukraine Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ukraine Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.