| Geographic Information Area - 27,200 sq.
km.
Population - 2,590,000
The Zaporizhia oblast is located in the southeastern part of Ukraine. A strategic location
of the oblast is emphasized by its equal distance from European and Asian markets. Its
area makes 4.5% of that of Ukraine. The oblast stretches for 208 km from the north to the
south and for 235 km from the east to the west. The oblast's south is washed by the Sea of
Azov, whose shoreline within the oblast's boundaries exceeds 300 km. The Dnipro, the
European third longest river, an important transport waterway, flows in the oblast's
territory. The oblast is characterized by a plain landscape.
Residents of the Zaporizhia oblast make over 4% of the Ukrainian population. The urban
population is 1574,600, and the rural 484,000. In the administrative territorial respect,
the oblast includes 20 districts, 5 regional subordination and 9 district subordination
towns, 23 town type settlements and 920 villages.
The Zaporizhia oblast is highly urbanized. Town residents make over 75% of population, 57%
of the whole oblast's population reside in three largest towns: Zaporizhia, Melitopol, and
Berdiansk. An insignificant outflow of manpower from towns to villages has been observed
recently.
The oblast takes a leading place in Ukraine in the variety and wealth of mineral raw
material resources. It has considerable resources of iron and manganese ores. 25 various
mineral resources are available in the oblast, 131 deposits have been explored, 64 of
which are exploited. The oblast's share in total mineral resources of Ukraine is:
pegmatite 88.06%, apatite 63.42%; manganese ore 69.1%, secondary kaolin 22.9%, iron
ores 10%, and refractory clays 8.6%.
Climatic conditions are maximally favorable for development of agriculture, recreation,
health resort rest and tourism.
Foreign Economic Relations
Among factors of the investment interest in the oblast is a high educational level of
population. 15% of the population aged from 25 to 64 have higher education and 78% have
secondary education, this greatly exceeds similar indicators of many developed European
countries. It's due to great demand of high technology industrial enterprises of the
oblast of efficient specialists.
As of 1 January 1998 direct foreign investments in the oblast's economy made $48,500,000
from 41 countries of the world and about $100,000,000 of credit.
Among enterprises with foreign capital the most successfully functioning are the close
joint stock company "Iveco Motor Sich", whose cofounder is the Italian company
"IVECO" (the foreign investment is $3,400,000 ), the public joint stock company
"Brewery and Beverage Plant "Slavutich", that received $10,000,000 from the
Swedish company "Baltic Beverages Holding AB" and the close joint stock company
"Dniprorudnenskyi Integrated Iron Ore plant", that got 17,900,000 from the
Slovak company "MINERFIN a. s.". The Korean "Daewoo
Corporation" together with the public joint stock company "AvtoZAZ" are
working over the establishment of a joint passenger car manufacturing enterprise, an
agreement on a joint activity was reached in March 1998. The Korean partner is supposed to
invest $1,300,000,000 into this project. |
Industry
The industrial output of the oblast (in current prices) makes up 8.2% of the total
industrial output in Ukraine. The Zaporizhia oblast is a major producer of electric power,
high quality steels, ferroalloys, nonferrous metals, abrasives, cables, power
transformers, various equipment and machinery, including the farm machinery and passenger
cars.
The largest share of the total industrial output among sectors have the heavy industry
plants: power industry and metallurgical complex (76%), machine building and metalworking
(13%), food and processing industry (7%). The share of other sectors, including the
chemical and petrochemical, light and glass industries is 4%. Tens of developments can be
named, whose level is higher than ucts.
The number of enterprises in the oblast is 239. More than 25% of the whole electric power
in Ukraine are generated in the Zaporizhia oblast, its main producer is Zaporizhia nuclear
power plant. The oblast's metallurgical complex comprises ferrous and nonferrous
metallurgy enterprises, including joint stock companies "Zaporishstal",
"Dniprospetsstal", "Zaporizhia Ferroalloy Works",
"Zaporishkoks", "Zaporizhia Integrated Aluminium Works",
"Ukrgrafit" and Zaporizhia titanium magnesium plant.
The machine building in the oblast is characterized by a high technology production and is
mainly oriented at manufacture of aircraft engines (public joint stock company "Motor
Sich"), passenger cars (public joint stock company "AvtoZAZ") and
transformers (public joint stock company "Zaporishtransformator"). The leading
enterprises of the sector are also public joint stock companies "Azovkabel"
(cables) and "Pivdenhidromash" (hydraulic machines). In view of a considerable
agricultural output an important place is held by food processing enterprises, which
include public joint stock companies "Zaporizhia meat processing plant" and
"Melitopol meat processing plant" as well as the joint stock company
"Zaporizhia integrated oil and fat plant". Light industry enterprises of the
oblast manufacture garments and knitted articles (the largest of them are public joint
stock companies "Selena" and "Elegant"), footwear, washing machines,
tape recorders, and furniture.Transport and Communications
The oblast has all types of transport communications: motor, railway, air, and water
transport. Most important transport enterprises of the oblast include the Berdiansk
trading seaport, the Zaporizhia river port, and the "Zaporizhia" international
airport. All communication types are developed in the oblast. The oblast has a developed
telephone network. Mobile and pager communication systems are intensively developing.
There are several electronic mail servers. The "Internet" system is accessible
in the "on-line" mode. The oblast has a developed network of trading, public
catering and consumer services establishments.
Economy
The major part in the structure of the oblast's GDP falls on industry (59.6% in 1996).
Shares of other sectors are as follows: agriculture 15.3%, construction 8.2%, transport
and communication 9.8%, trade and public catering 4.3% and other sectors 2.7%. |
Historical / Cultural
In the Zaporizhia oblast, as perhaps nowhere in Ukraine traditions are noticeable and have
rich history. Historians and archeologists confirm that people have been living at the
oblast's territory since time immemorial. The land was densely populated in the 9th-13th
centuries. In the 12th century, however, the land became depopulated due to the
internecine wars and continuous raids of nomads. In the late 15th and the early 16th
centuries Zaporizhia Cossacks became masters of the lands downstream of the Dnipro's
rapids.
The unassailable island Khortytsia turned into one of the centers of formation of the
Cossack army, which became a formidable force of the Ukrainian people in their fight
against foreign invaders. It was Zaporizhia that was fated to become the cradle of
Ukrainian democracy, because Cossacks were the first to establish at the territory of
Ukraine a political formation with all the attributes of a republic.
Late in 1770, construction of the Oleksandrivska fortress was started, which in time grew
into the town of Zaporizhia. In the late 18th century Zaporizhia became a trading center
downstream of the Dnipro's rapids. This was promoted by waterways of the Dnipro's basin,
which converged near the rapids and two land roads. Four trade fairs were held in the town
every year.
The Zaporizhia land was given a new impetus for development in the second half of the 19th
century. The Zaporizhia industrial zone was formed with an active participation of the
western (mainly German) capital. At the beginning of the 20th century 65 enterprises were
functioning in the town of Zaporizhia seven farm machinery works, five brick and tile
works, one brewery, three soap factories, one sawmill, eight large steam powered flour
mills, ten metalworking mechanical and 30 handicraft shops.
A real industrial and construction boom began in the early 30s, when the Dnipro
hydroelectric station was put in operation. A high capacity metallurgical complex has been
formed in the oblast and the machine building has been further developed. Zaporizhia
became one of the largest industrial centers of Ukraine and East Europe.Agriculture
The agricultural output in 1996 made 3.2% of the total agricultural production in Ukraine.
The farmland area in the oblast is 2240.7 thousand hectares (5.4% of the Ukrainian
farmlands), it includes 1903.6 thousand hectares of arable land and 263.4 thousand
hectares of irrigated land. The sectional structure of agricultural production is as
follows: plant growing 49.6%, animal husbandry 50.4%. Main commercial products are grain
and sunflower seeds. Southern districts specialize in gardening. Productive cattle, pig,
and poultry breeding is well developed. 321 (1,370,000 hectares) of 395 agricultural
enterprises of the oblast have been shared among their workers.
The oblast has 1,878 registered private farms, which have at their disposal 70,9 thousand
hectares of farmland, including 67.2 thousand hectares of arable land.
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