This is one in a series of profiles on the republics of the former Soviet Union that are intended to provide basic reference material as a backdrop for assessing future development in these new states. The profile provides a description of the geography, population, and economy of Ukraine and compares its level of development, growth, and social welfare with that in France and Poland.

International comparisons, particularly for aggregate measures such as GNP, are difficult to make because of differences in definitions and methods used by various countries in compiling statistics. International currency exchange rates are deficient for this purpose because they do not reflect relative purchasing power of different currencies over the whole range of output of goods and services included in GNP. Because of the lack of these parities, alternative measures have been selected. These measures include primarily data for which comparable international statistics were available.

For the most part, official statistics in the public domain were used in compiling the tables and other numerical entries. The annual statistical abstract for Ukraine (Narodnoye khozyaystvo) was the most important source of data. Extensive use was also made of Trud v SSSR (Labor in the USSR), Sotsial'noye razvitiye v SSSR (Social Development in the USSR), and the Perepis' naseleniya (Population Census). Reference country comparisons - France and Poland - relied on the information found in their yearbooks and in various OECD publications covering national accounts, food consumption, and the like. More detailed data on the profile state are included in the appendixes.