| Geographic Information Area - 12,800 sq.
km.
Population - 1,289,000
Zakarpattya has a unique geographical position. It is situated in the far southwest of
Ukraine, occupies the southeastern part of the Ukrainian Carpathians and the Danube
lowland, it borders on the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts in the north and southeast ,
while in the north, west and south it borders on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania. By
the force of its geographic peculiarities, Zakarpattya was always a convenient link
between the states of Northern and Southern, Eastern and Western Europe.
The position on the junction of three states, on international transit routes permits the
oblast playing a great part in Ukraine integration to European structures and favors its
active participation in the international division of labor.
The oblast is not large as to its area and population on the country scales: its territory
and population make 2.1% and 2.5% of those in Ukraine.
The oblast territory is divided into 13 administrative districts and 2 cities subordinated
to the center city of the oblast, 295 village and settlement councils. There are 10 towns,
20 town type villages, 579 villages in the oblast.
The oblast belongs to densely populated ones. The labor resources of the oblast for 1996
made up 759,300 persons or 59.2% of permanent population; population density is 107
persons per sq. km. Disproportion between the available labor force and its demand is one
of the reasons of labor migration in the oblast. The number of unemployed population is
about 272,000 persons, including about 100,000 persons pretending to the permanent place
of dwelling.
Transport and Communications
The oblast has a branched transport network incorporating railway, motor, air and pipeline
transport, a developed network of power and communication plants, international telephone
exchange "UTEL" and mobile communication.
Sixteen (16) control crossing points, 8 of them having international status, 3 interstate,
5 points of simplified border crossing operate within the oblast limits on the borders
with the states of Eastern Europe.
Two SC: "Zakarpatinterport" and "Autoport-CHOP" have been created to
ensure the handling of cargo, crossing the state frontiers in the town of Chop.
Agriculture
Agriculture and industry complex of the oblast is composed of 160 economies, incorporating
117 collective farms and 15 agricultural trade enterprises, 9 agricultural firms, 4 units
of peasants and companies associates, 5 stock companies. Besides, there are 1,340
peasants' farms with allotted 5,600 ha or 1.2% of the total area of agricultural lands.
A share of private sector in production of gross agricultural production makes about 89%,
including meat (90.0%), milk (92.4%).
A low land provision of population is a characteristic feature of the oblast. There are
only 0.38 ha of agricultural land per capita (0.16 ha of arable land) that is 3.5(2.5)
times less than in the country as a whole. But the oblast has occupied one of the first
places in Ukraine as to the intensity level of plant growing branches and by a number of
indices they can compete as to the intensity level with neighboring countries: Slovakia
and Hungary.
Cereals (winter wheat and maize), potato and vegetables, horticulture and viniculture
products are the main cultures. But the oblast does not meet the requirements in food
resources. Of 11 most important groups of food products agriculture of the oblast can meet
the demands of fruit, vegetables, berries and potato.
|
Industry
Food industry (34.1%) occupies the first place in the structure of industrial production,
forestry and wood working make 26.3%, machine building and metal working 10.7%,
meal-cereals 6.6%.
Active property reform in industry has brought to the decrease of specific weight of
enterprises of non state sector in the production volume which has made about 80.0%.
Forestry and wood working industry (production of furniture, sawn timber), forest
chemicals (wood working products), food industry (production of wine, brandy, canned
fruit), machine building (metal cutting instruments, electric engines, pipeline valves,
etc.), production of building materials (crushed rock, facing materials), light industry
(footwear, head dresses, clothing and knitted goods) are the branches of production
specialization.
There are 346 industrial enterprises in the oblast, 170 of them being stock companies. The
largest and most promising enterprises of the oblast are as follows:
- In the food industry: agro industrial integrated plant "Uzhgorod CSC
"Gelios", OSC "Svalyava mineral waters", rental enterprise
"Uzhgorod brandy Plant", small private enterprises "Alex", "Vital
plus" limited company etc.;
- In the forestry and wood working industry: CSC "Mukachiv Forest Integrated
Plant" (specialized in lumbering, sawing wood working production, veneer production,
furniture sets), stock company "Victoria"(specialized in production of highly
comfortable and aesthetically beautiful furniture for bedrooms, the sets for kitchens,
anterooms decorated with highly artistic carving, office furniture), CSC "Dovzhanka
Forest Integrated Plants", CSC "Mukachiv Furniture Integrated Plants", CSC
"Rakhiv Cardboard Factory", CSC "Yasinia Forest Integrated Plants",
CSC "Volovets Forest Integrated Plants", SC "Firm Yavirnyk", etc.;
- In the machine building and metal working: Uzhgorod state trade production enterprise
"Turbogaz", Zakarpattia Helicopter Production Association, OSC "Irshava
Abrasive Plant", OSC "Valve Plant", OSC "Beregove Research
Experimental Plant of Diagnostic and Garage Equipment", OSC "Uzhgorod Plant
"Electrodvygun" (Electric Motor), plant "Tochprylad", OSC
"Mukachiv Plant of Completed Laboratories".
Enterprise "Turbogaz" produces spares for power equipment of gas pipelines,
equipment for gas industry, consumer goods. The enterprise production is delivered to
consumers from Ukraine, Russia and other CIS countries.
The Zakarpattya Helicopter Production Enterprise is the only producer of aggregates and
aerofacilities: seats for pilots and crew in planes AN, TU, IL. The airframes of planes
and helicopters are made according to modern know how.
OSC "Irshava Abrasive Plant" is specialized in production of abrasive wheels and
abrasive cloth. Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia are their
users.
OSC "Zakarpattya Metallurgic Plant" produces titanium powders, titanium tablets,
titanium based articles, electrodes, consumer commodities Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Holland, Austria, France are the users of their products.Economic Complex
The present state of the oblast economy is characterized by essential changes in the
structure of national economy complex. The share of industry making 26.1% has decreased in
the gross national product, the share of agriculture has also increased and makes 29.0%,
that of service branches (transport, communication, trade) about 21.0%.
|
Natural Resources The land nature is rich
and diverse. Forests cover about 50% of the territory, the forest stock is 687,000 ha. The
natural composition of the Carpathian forests is rather rich with prevalence of hard
leafed (62.2%) and coniferous (29.9%) species. The total wood reserve is 157,800,000 sq.
m., including 37,040,000 m of nature stands.
The mineral raw material base of the oblast is presented by 150 deposits of 30 kinds of
minerals, non traditional ones (polymetals, alunites, pearlites, zeolites, liparites)
being among them.
Reserves of common salt of the Solotvyn deposit, making 3,500 million tons are rather
significant among the oblast nonmetalic minerals. The deposits of zeolites (their
predicted reserves make 1,000,000,000 tons) are the only in Ukraine and especially
promising for development. Within the limits of Biganian deposit of alunites they have
explored 5,700,000 tons of barite ores used to prepare boring solutions when sinking deep
bore holes, including those for oil and gas.
Germanium, which is used as semiconductor in modern radio electronics, instrument
engineering, space technology and other fields, is of great value at the world market. The
proveen reserves of the deposit, which are not mined, make 850 tons, the estimated
reserves are 1,900 - 2,000 tons.
The oblast has great potentialities in development of porcelain/faience industry, kaolin
being its raw material. Zakarpattya kaolin with reserves of 5,000,000 tons, are
exceptionally white and have no analogues in Ukraine, as to their chemical composition
they are similar to China kaolin.
The oblast is extremely rich in raw materials for building industry. Thirteen (13)
deposits of carbonate raw materials (marble limestone, dolomite, marble) utilized as
facing material, decorative aggregate, limestone flour, building limestone have been
revealed. Zakarpattya is rich in mineral and thermal waters, unique as to their medicinal
properties and energetic power. Above 360 sources of mineral waters with general debit of
about 10,000 sq.m. a day, various as to their chemical and medicinal characteristics, have
been found and examined. They do not yield to well known waters of the Caucasus, Czech,
Poland, France. Above 30 deposits are utilized in the oblast, including 12 ones whose
reserves of mineral waters (4 334.4 m /day) are acknowledged by the State Commission on
Reserves of Minerals.
Mineral waters, having good flavoring characteristics, are used both as medicinal table
waters at resort sanatorium establishments and by bottling plants. In the recent years the
bottling of mineral water for everyday use has considerably increased.
The oblast is distinguished by favorable climatic conditions as well as by high natural
recreational potential, 5.2% of the volume and 5.1% of the cost potential of natural
recreation resources of Ukraine are concentrated there.
Foreign Economic Relations
Zakarpattya maintains foreign economic relations with 72 countries all over the world.
They maintain especially close relations with the partners from Austria (19.9% of the
foreign trade volume), Germany (17.6%), Hungary (15.8%), Russia (9.4%).
Enterprises with foreign investments (397) with the total sum of investments $ 84,000,000
have been registered in the oblast.
By January 1998 the greatest part of foreign investments falls on forestry and woodworking
industry (18.5%), food industry (18.4%), production branches of the consumer service
(18.1%), home trade (17.8%).
Foreign economic relations of the oblast are improved and expanded by means of activation
of the oblast participation in the activities of association "Carpathian
Eurooblast", in development of the frontier cooperation. |
