Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (, Dnipropetrovs’ka oblast’ or Дніпропетровщина, Dnipropetrovshchyna) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. Its administrative center is Dnipropetrovsk.

Important cities within the oblast include: Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvyi Rih, Dniprodzerzhynsk, Nikopol

Geography

The Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is located in southeastern Ukraine. The area of the oblast' (31,900 km²), comprises about 5.3% of the total area of the country.

Its longitude from north to south is 130 km, from east to west – 300 km. The oblast' borders the Poltava and Kharkiv Oblast's on the north, the Donetsk Oblast on the east, the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblast's on the south, and the Mykolayiv and Kirovohrad Oblast's on the west.

Administrative Sudivisions

The following data incorporates the number of each type of administrative divisions of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast:

Administrative Center - 1 (Dnipropetrovsk)
Raions — 22;
City raions — 18;
Settlements — 1504, including:
- Villages — 1438;
- Cities/Towns — 66, including:
  - Urban-type settlement — 46;
  - Cities — 20, including:
    - Cities of oblast' subordinance — 13;
    - Cities of raion subordinance — 8;
Selsovets — 288.

The local administration of the oblast' is controlled by the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Rada. The governer of the oblast' is the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Rada speaker, appointed by the President of Ukraine.

Demographics

Its population (as of 2004) is 3,493,062 million constitutes 5.3% of the overall Ukrainian population.

As of the 2001 census, the ethnic groups within the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast are:

Ukrainians - 79.3%
Russians - 17.6%
Other - 3.1%

Environment

The oblast' is situated in the steppe region. Forests in the oblast' occupy about 3,9% of the oblast's total territory). The average temperature in the winter balances from -5°C to -7°C and in the summer - +22°C - +23°C. The average annual rainfall is 400-490 mm

The tender climate, mineral sources, and the curative mud allow opportunities for rest and cure within the region. Here there are 21 health-centers and medicated pensions, 10 rest homes, recreation departments and rest camps for children.

The Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has splendid flora and fauna. Here, there are more than 1700 kinds of vegetation, 7500 kinds of animals (including elk, wild boar, dappled deer, roe, hare, fox, wolf, etc.) There are also 114 park and nature objects, including 15 state reserves; 3 nature memorials, 24 local parks; 7 landscape parks; 3 park tracts, which altogether make up approximately 26,000 square hectares.

217 rivers flow within the area, including 55 rivers which are longer than 25 km, the major one being the Dnieper, which crosses through the center of the oblast'. Also flowing through the region are three major reservoirs, the Dniprodzerzhynsk, Dnieper and Kakhovka, and the Dnieper-Kryvyi Rih Canal.

Economy

The Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has a high industry potential. There are 712 basic industrial organizations, including 20 different types of economic activity with about 473,4 thousand workers. The area also produces about 16,9% of the total industry production of Ukraine. This places the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast second in Ukraine (after the neighbouring Donetsk Oblast).

External links

Official site of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Administration
Unofficial informational site
Information Card of the Region - official site of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine