UKRAINE
Society
Society
Cities in UKRAINE
| Kyiv |
Society
State structure
The parliamentary democracy Ukraine became an independent republic on August 24, 1991; the new constitution of June 28, 1996 provides for a presidential republic and a one-chambered parliament, the "Verkhovna Rada," with 450 members elected every four years. Half the number of members of parliament are elected on the basis of proportional representation and the other half on a district system.
The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct presidential election every five years. All residents over the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. For the current political situation, see history section.
Administrative division
Ukraine is administratively divided into 24 regions or "oblasts"; the capital Kyiv has special status, as does the autonomous republic of Crimea. The oblasts are divided into about 450 districts, and each oblast has a local government with a president-appointed chairman.
However, Ukraine so far remains a strongly centrally governed country, with very little decentralization of powers.
| Capital city | area | inhabitants | |
| Cherkasy | Cherkasy | 20.900 km2 | 1.400.000 |
| Chernihiv | Chernihiv | 31.900 km2 | 1.200.000 |
| Chernivtsi | Chernivtsi | 8.100 km2 | 922.000 |
| Dnjprodzerzhyns’k | Dnjprodzerzhyns’k | 31.900 km2 | 3.500.000 |
| Donets’k | Donets’k | 26.500 km2 | 4.800.000 |
| Ivano-Frankivs’k | Ivano-Frankivs’k | 13.900 km2 | 1.400.000 |
| Kharkiv | Kharkiv | 31.400 km2 | 2.900.000 |
| Kherson | Kherson | 28.500 km2 | 1.170.000 |
| Khmel’nyts’kyy | Khmel’nyts’kyy | 20.600 km2 | 1.400.000 |
| Kiroyohrad | Kiroyohrad | 24.600 km2 | 1.100.000 |
| Kyyiv | Kyyiv | 28.900 km2 | 1.800.000 |
| Luhans’k | Luhans’k | 29.700 km2 | 2.500.000 |
| L’viv | L’viv | 21.800 km2 | 2.600.000 |
| Mykolayiv | Mykolayiv | 24.600 km2 | 1.260.000 |
| Odesa | Odesa | 33.300 km2 | 2.400.000 |
| Poltava | Poltava | 28.800 km2 | 1.600.000 |
| Rivne | Rivne | 20.100 km2 | 1.150.000 |
| Sumy | Sumy | 23.800 km2 | 1.250.000 |
| Ternopil’ | Ternopil’ | 13.800 km2 | 1.100.000 |
| Vinnytsya | Vinnytsya | 26.500 km2 | 1.700.000 |
| Volyn’ | Luts’k | 20.200 km2 | 1.000.000 |
| Zakarpattya | Uzhorod | 12.800 km2 | 1.200.000 |
| Zaporizhzhya | Zaporizhzhya | 27.200 km2 | 1.900.000 |
| Zhytomyr | Zhytomyr | 29.900 km2 | 1.300.000 |
| Autonomus republic | |||
| Krym | Simferopol’ | 27.000 km2 | 2.000.000 |
| Cilties with ‘oblast’-status | |||
| Kyiv | Kyiv | 2.600.000 | |
| Sevastopol’ | Sevastopol’ | 379.000 | |
Education
Primary and secondary education in Ukraine includes the pre-school period up to grade eleven. Preschool programs are attended by two-thirds of all Ukrainian children. Children from six months to three years attend preschool ('dityachy yasly'), and children from three to six years attend kindergarten ('dityachy sad').
Elementary education ('pochatkova osvita') is provided in grades 1-4, secondary education in grades 5-9, and those who pass grades ten and eleven may possibly attend university. Children are subject to compulsory education up to grade nine. After grade nine, they receive a diploma and can choose to attend a vocational school or a specialized technical school.
It is not easy to get a university education. For some places there are as many as twenty applicants and one must also first pass a number of entrance exams.
Ukraine has about 15 universities, but they are no longer among the best in Europe. The only exceptions are the courses in computer technology and oceanography.
The Kyiv-Mohyla Academy was reopened in 1992, more than 175 years after the Russians closed its doors. It is the first university not under state control.
Ukrainian education has suffered greatly from the collapse of communism, the financial resources available, and the introduction of Ukrainian as an official language. For example, a large proportion of teachers are Russian-speaking and do not speak enough Ukrainian to teach in the official language.
Sources
Bassis, V. / Ukraine
Marshall Cavendish
Corona, L. / Ukraine
Lucent Books
Hove, P. ten / Schets van Oekraïne
Stichting Platform Samenwerking Nederland-Oekraïne
Oekraïne
Minbuza Stichting Platform Samenwerking Nederland-Oekraïne
Otfinoski, S. / Ukraine
Facts on File
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Last updated March 2024Copyright: Team The World of Info