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A country whose state song declares that 'Ukraine has not yet died' might not seem the most uplifting destination, but don't let that deter you. The country rewards travellers with hospitable people, magnificent architecture and miles of gently rolling steppe.

Nearly every city and town has its centuries-old cathedral, and many have open-air museums of folk architecture, caves stuffed with mummified monks, and exquisite mosaics wherever you look. The food sticks to your ribs and the bandura tunes lodge themselves in your brain for weeks.

Ukraine has its share of the thoroughly modern, but it's also replete with Gothic, Byzantine and Baroque architecture and art - reminders of its many foreign overlords. There are also dozens of villages with picket fences, duck ponds and overloaded horse carts, where time seems to stand still.

Full country name: Ukraine
Area: 603,700 sq km
Population: 48.05 million
Capital City: Kiev (pop 2.6 million)
People: Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%
Language: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Religion: Ukrainian Orthodox, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic, Protestant, Jewish
Government: republic
Head of State: President Leonid Kuchma
Head of Government: Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych
 

GDP: US$218 billion
GDP per capita: US$4,500
Annual Growth: -1.7%
Inflation: 5.5%
Major Industries: Coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food-processing (especially sugar), grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables, beef, milk
Major Trading Partners: Russia, China, Turkey, Germany, Belarus, US, Poland, Italy
Member of EU: No
 

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