Ukraine’s GDP real annual growth rate since 1990, as of 16 July 2009
Unlike its neighbors, profiled in the Central Europe Report, Ukraine’s economic scene is dimmer since the recession began. Setting the stage for its current economic downturn was a longer road to a market economy than other former Soviet states faced, and now the crisis has hit Ukraine the hardest. As the Visegrad 4 turned West and flourished, Ukraine, tied to Poland but still tethered to Russia, saw its economy slump for years after the end of communism before hitting its stride in 2000. In 2004 its GDP grew 12 percent, while in 1999 it had registered negative growth.
