FACTS
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Academic Mobility Office
Ukraine is a large picturesque country in Eastern Europe. The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov border its territory from the south and southeast, from the north and west it is surrounded by forests, western part is the Carpathian mountains, and the eastern part of Ukraine is the agrarian and industrial regions with many fields and coal mines. Ukraine is bordered by Russia, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova and has an area of 603,628 km², making it the largest country entirely within Europe and the 46th largest country in the world.
Official language: Ukrainian
Capital and the largest city: Kyiv
Independence date: August, 24, 1991
Area: 603 700 km²
Climate: moderately continental, subtropical (on South)
Average winter temperature: from -8° to -12°C
Average summer temperature: from +18° to +25°C
Population: approximately 43 million people
Population density: 80 p/km²
Currency: hryvnia
Time zone: GMT+2 (UTC+2)
Internet top-level domain: .ua
International phone code: +380
• Ukraine is the biggest country within Europe
• Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych wrote the world-wide famous composition called “Shchedryk” which became the traditional American Christmas song “Carol of the Bells”
• One of the supposed geographical centers of Europe is located in Western-Ukrainian town of Rakhiv
• The longest cave in Eurasia is called Optimistic and located in Ternopil region of Ukraine
• The biggest cargo airplane in the world is Ukrainian AN-225 “Mriya” (“The Dream”) – this plane beat 124 world records during one flight in 2001
• Ukraine signed the agreement about nuclear disarmament in 1994. At that time, Ukraine had the third biggest nuclear arsenal in the world after USA and Russia
• Ukraine annually produces more than 65000 tones of honey – the fifth position in the world
• The first helicopter in the world was constructed by Ukrainian and American engineer Igor Sikorsky who was KPI alumni
• The longest trolleybus route in the world is in the Ukrainian Crimea – 95 kilometers between towns of Yalta and Simferopol
• Oleshki Sands – one of the biggest deserts in Europe. It is located in Kherson Region in Southern Ukraine.