Distillers Ukraine
A one-page guide to Ukraine for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Kyiv
- Official languages
- Ukrainian
- Currency
- Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH)
- Time zone
- UTC+2 (EET); UTC+3 in summer
- Area
- 603,628 km²
People
- Population
- 32.9 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 2.9% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 69.6%
- Aged under 15
- 13.7%
- Aged 65 and over
- 19.0%
- Life expectancy
- 74.7 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$214.2 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$6,519 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.8% (2025)
- Inflation
- 12.7% (2025)
Climate
Mostly continental, with cold semi-arid and humid subtropical conditions on the southern coast. Annual mean temperature is about 5.5-7 C in the north and 11-13 C in the south; rainfall is highest in the west and north and lowest in the south-east.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (Law No. 1824-VI, art. 15-3, per Wikipedia)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 3.9 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- Traditional drinks
- Horilka (vodka-style spirit), Samohon (home distilled), Nalyvka (fruit infusion, about 15%), Mead
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia - Alcohol in Ukraine; Wikipedia - Ukraine (basics, climate); IMF DataMapper WEO (GDP, population, growth, inflation; retrieved 26 Oct 2026); UN Comtrade (HS 2208); WHO Global Health Observatory; Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; The Landlord - 35 largest alcohol producers in Ukraine (2015); The Spirits Business - Ukrainian spirits market (2021). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.