25 Interesting Facts About Ukraine

Happy 25th Independence Day, Ukraine!

Today, on the 24th of August, Ukraine celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Independence. Besides being the biggest country in Europe, there’s much more to learn about Ukraine.

In honor of our biggest national holiday, we present you 25 interesting and fun facts about Ukraine, covering everything from music, history, and science up to IT industry. Enjoy!

We’re At The Top Of The World

1. One of the oldest maps in history was found in Ukraine, in the village of Mezhireche. Inscribed on a mammoth tusk, the map was discovered in 1966 and dates back to 10,000 BCE.
2. The first constitution in the world was written and adopted in Ukraine in 1710 by a Cossack hetman Pylyp Orlyk. This document established a democratic standard for the separation of powers in the government between the legislative, executive and judiciary branches.
3. The longest musical instrument in the world is Trembita. It is a very long pipe (up to 4 meters) that the Hutsul ethnicity from the Carpathian Mountains plays.
4. The deepest metro station in the world is Arsenalna station in Kyiv going down at 105.5 meters. It was dug that deep for military purposes with a huge secret bunker hidden between central metro stations.
5. The shortest and, at the same time, one of the widest city main streets in the world is Khreshchatyk Street in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Its total length is only 1,225 meters.

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

6. Ukraine owns the biggest manganese ore deposits in the world – 2.3 billion tons or 11 percent of the planet’s reserve.
7. The Ukrainian language took the 2nd place on melodic criteria after Italian and was ranked as the 3rd most beautiful language in the world after French and Persian at a linguistic contest held in Paris in 1934.
8. The 3rd most visited McDonalds in the world is in Kyiv, near the main railroad station. This fast-food restaurant frequently makes it into the top 5 most crowded establishments on the planet. Last year it served more than two million orders.
9. Ukraine is the 4th most educated nation in the world. 99.4% of Ukrainians at the age of 15 and over can read and write and nearly 70% of adult Ukrainians have secondary or higher education.
10. Ukraine is the 3rd largest exporter of honey in the world with the total amount around 70 000 tons.

Tech & Science

11. A plane with the largest freight-carrying capacity in the world – the An-225 “Mriya” was created by the Ukrainians from the Antonov Design Bureau. Originally, it was designed for spacecraft transportation. Now, “Mriya” specializes in oversize freight.
12. The world’s most eco-friendly carrier rocket Zenith 3SL is made in Ukraine by the Pivdenmash company. This rocket is a part of the Sea Launch program, launching commercial payloads into space from a sea platform near the equator.
13. The first modern gas lamp was invented by the local pharmacists Ignatiy Lukasevych and Yan Sekh in 1853 in Lviv. The same year this lamp was used for the first surgery under the artificial light.
14. In 1814 Ukrainian Petro Prokopovych invented the world’s first beehive which used hive frames. In Prokopovych’s design, the frames were placed only in the honey chamber. In the brood chamber, the bees built the combs in free style.
15. It was not until 1942 that a first modern helicopter designed by the Ukrainian-born inventor Igor Sikorsky reached full-scale production. Sikorsky settled on a simple, single rotor design, which turned out to be the first practical single lifting rotor helicopter design.

Cultural Facts

16. The world famous Christmas “Carol of the Bells” is the Ukrainian pagan magical chant Shchedryk, adopted by composer Mykola Leontovych into a choral work.
17. The Ukrainian craftsman Mykola Syadristy shoed a flea. This unusual item can be seen in the Kyiv museum of microminiature.
18. The first higher educational institution of the Eastern Slavs was the Ostroh Slavic Greek Latin Academy, founded by Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn in 1576 (Ostroh, Ukraine). Now it is the National University of Ostroh Academy.
19. During the South African War in 1899-1902, the commander Yuri Budyak saved a young English journalists from execution. Later Yuri worked in the Ukrainian People’s Republic. And the journalist’s name was… Winston Churchill.
20. The monuments to a famous Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko, are set in 1384 places around the world.

IT Industry In Ukraine

21. Ukraine is the 4th country with the largest number of IT specialists in the world. The IT working force in Ukraine is around 90 000.
22. According to Bloomberg’s 2015 list of Top 50 Most Innovative Countries, Ukraine significantly improved its position in the overall ranking and now holds the 33rd place.
23. Since 2007 Ukraine is included in Gartner’s TOP 30 outsourcing locations list, and its position is growing from year to year.
24. Depositphotos, Petcube, Grammarly, Redwerk (oh, yes!) and many other companies started and are located in Ukraine.
25. There are over 1000 of IT service companies and over 100 of R&D centers throughout Ukraine.