Ukraine

Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe, with a shoreline on the northern edge of the Black Sea. In the 10th and 11th centuries the region was the home of the Kievan Rus, a powerful society that created the first eastern Slavic state. Ukraine enjoyed long periods of sovereignty over the centuries, but in 1920, the region was taken over by the Soviets. Between the 1920s and the 1940s Ukraine lost nearly 16 million people to artificially-created famines and the horrors of World War II. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine re-emerged as an independent nation with a diverse economy, a army of 1 million, and the world's third largest nuclear arsenal. The transition to representative democracy has been slow. In 2002, the peaceful “Orange Revolution” led to the creation of a reformist government later that year.

The population is 46,300,000, but with a birth rate of 9.45 per 1,000 and a death rate of 16.07 per 1,000, the population is declining by 0.675 percent annually. Median age is 39.2 years. Life expectancy is 62.16 years for males and 73.96 years for females. Gross national income is $1,520 per person, with 32 percent defined as living in poverty. The cost of consumer goods rose 117 percent between 1990–2005.

Communicable diseases do not play much of a role in the lives of Ukrainians, at least in terms of mortality. Only 2 percent of deaths stem from communicable diseases. The exception is sexually-transmit-ted diseases. Ukraine has the fastest-growing AIDS epidemic in Europe, spurred in part by rising rates of drug use. The adult prevalence rate is 1.4 percent and climbing, with over 400,000 already infected.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer in the Ukraine, accounting for 60 percent of all deaths each year. Of that number 40 percent are ischaemic in nature, more than double the European average. Risk factors include widespread use of tobacco and alcohol, high blood pressure, high body mass index, physical inactivity, high cholesterol, and low intake of fruits and vegetables. Diabetes prevalence is low, at 2 percent of the population.

The average Ukrainian consumes 4.8 liters of alcohol each year, and alcohol is estimated to play a role in 12 percent of the country's disease burden. Alcohol is also implicated in the 11 percent mortality rate from external causes such as traffic accidents, accidental poisonings, and violence. The suicide rate in Ukraine is 24 deaths per 100,000.

Child mortality in Ukraine is low, with 17 deaths per 1,000 in children under 5. Immunization rates are around 98 percent. Like adults, Ukrainian children are suffering more from “lifestyle” diseases. In one study of [Page 1699]13-year olds, 5 percent of boys and 3 percent of girls were obese. In a survey of 15-year olds, 19 percent of girls and 29 percent of boys admitted to consuming alcohol at least once a week, and 8 percent of girls and 21 percent of boys said they had smoked pot within the past year. AIDS is spreading quickly among adolescents.

The fertility rate is 1.24 children per woman, with 68 percent of women using contraception. All births take place in hospital, and the maternal mortality rate is 35 deaths per 100,000 live births.

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