ABSTRACT
Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe, bordered by Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, the Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea. Home to seven World Heritage Sites, and also the presumed geographical center of the European continent, Ukraine has the eighth highest population in Europe, with approximately 43.7 million people. About 70 percent of the population lives in urban areas, including major metropolitan centers such as Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and the capital, Kyiv. The majority of the population is ethnically Ukrainian, but other groups include Russian, Belarusian, Moldovan, Crimean Tata, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, and Jewish. The country is majority Christian, with two-thirds identifying as Orthodox. Languages spoken include Ukrainian, the official language, and Russian.
