Lviv Oblast Facts & Figures

Lviv Oblast

Facts and Figures How to get there

Geographical Information

Territory: 21.8 thousand sq. km
Population: 2,800,000

The Lviv region is situated in the Western part of Ukraine and is one of its most developed region. In the north and northwest it borders upon Volyn and Rivne regions, in the west and southwest upon Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the south upon Transcarpathian regions and in the west upon Poland.

The region area makes 3.6 % of the territory of Ukraine.

The region population amounts to 5.3 % of the country population, urban population running about 60.6 %. Note that Lviv region stands as the most urbanized one among the western provinces of Ukraine. Population density is 1.5 times higher than an average one in Ukraine and makes up 127 persons per sq. km.

The region territory is cut with a dense river system that forms the main Black Sea - Baltic sea watershed .
The region boasts considerable mineral resources, coal deposits being the most huge with concentration of coal approximating to 1,2 billion tons. At coal exploration sites are concentrated near 100 million tons of this valuable raw material.

Also, natural gas reserves are concentrated at 15 deposits and amount to approx. 300 billion m3.
Also, the Lviv region is rich in polymineral ores, sulfur, clays, sands, lime stones, sandstone and crushed stones mixes.
Mineral waters stand apart within the recreation natural resources base structure. Among known 8 mineral waters used in balneology, 7 types can be found in this region. Four medicinal water deposits of 13 deposits of the Carpathian region fall on the Lviv region.

The reserves of mineral water "Naftusya" are spread all over the region, their total commercial amount allows an exploration rate of 5,000 m3/day. That of medicinal water approximates to 600 m3/day. The most known balneological sanatoriums are Truskavets, Skhidnytsya, Morshin, Velyki Lyubin, Nemiriv. The existing reserves satisfy completely the demands of health care and recreational organizations of the Region.

Production of Construction Materials

This branch produces: ceramic tile and ceramic sanitary household appliances (Joint Stock company "Lviv Ceramic plant"); roofing paper and heat insulation materials including foamed polystyrene(Joint Stock company "Lviv Pokizol"); keramzite ("Yavorivsky keramzite plant"); construction glass (Joint Stock company "Lviv mekhsklozavod").

The above productions are the only in the Carpathian region.

Also, the region possesses the great capacities in production of:
· cement (Joint Stock company "Mikolaevcement");
· gyps (Pustomutievkie zavodoupravlenie).

The above products are exported mainly to CIS countries and enjoys considerable demand in Ukraine.

Light industry of the Lviv region produces:
· sewing products (Ukrainian-Swiss Joint Venture "VESNA", Joint Stock company "GALLANT", Ukrainian-Belgium Join Venture "UKON", Joint Stock company "Mayak", Joint Stock company "Stritex", Joint Stock company "Zorya" - all of them export their products to both CIS and European countries);
· hosiery ("VESTA", Joint Stock company "Sokalska panchishna fabrica", Joint Stock company "Shans", Joint Stock company "Promin");
· knitted fabric and textile and haberdashery products ("Promin", Joint-Stock company "Yunist", Joint Stock company "Kalina");
· European quality leather products (Joint Stock company "ShP Svitanok" - 50% of its products are exported to Italian footwear plants);
· footwear (Joint Stock company LVVTP Progress", Joint Stock companies "ILONA", "Malva", "Oliko").

Closed Joint Stock company "Sewing factory named after L.Ukrainki" is the only in Ukraine to produce hand made embroidery enjoying high demand in both Ukraine and many countries abroad, especially in those with great Ukrainian communities.

Food industry enterprises specialize in production of:
· milk and milk products, milk based children's foodstuffs (Joint Stock companies (Lviv city milk plant, Lviv milk integrated works, Firm "AGRO");
· fats, margarine, mayonnaise (Joint Stock company "Lviv fat factory);
· meat products, sausages (Manufacturers "Prikarpattya", "Bilaki";
· ethyl alcohol, alcoholic drinks, bakery yeast (Lviv region alcoholic drinks production amalgamation, Lviv wine plant, Joint Stock company "Enzym");
· cafe and cafe "Joint Venture "GALKA", "VIDENSKA KAVA");
· beer (Joint Stock company "Kolos");
· cigarettes (Joint Venture "R.J.Reynolds Tobacco-Lviv");
· ice cream, dry ice, fruit jams (Joint Stock Lviv khladokombinat", Joint Venture "Trade Impex").

The Joint Stock company "Svitoch" is one of the most popular and known producers of sweets, caramel, chocolate, confectionery of all types etc.

Industry

The Lviv region possesses the most developed industrial potential of the western region of Ukraine.

The most effective directions of industrial production are mining chemistry and oil processing. The enterprises specializing in the latter produce:
· lubricants, additives, coolants, lubricants, antirust additives and mastics (Open Joint Stock Companies "Galol", Lviv Pilot Lubricant Plant", "Gallak");
· sulfur and carbon disulphides (Rozdilske Enterprise "Sirka", Sokalsky Plant "Galychyna");
· lacquers, paints, including those for printing and machine building, solvents, mastics (Joint Sock company "Lviv Lacquer and Paint works", Amalgamation "Masma", Joint Stock Company "Gallak");
· air separation products (Joint Stock Company "Lviv Chemistry Plant";
· wide range of drilling tools for oil and gas industry, geology, metallurgy and mining ("Joint Stock Companies "Drogobitsky
Dolotny Zavod", "Stryisky zavod Metalist").

In the Region operate the only in Ukraine enterprises producing mineral and potassium fertilizers and medicinal and marketable ozokerites (Rozdilske enterprise "Sirka", Joint Stock companies "Polymineral" and Borislavky ozokerit").
Just ozokerit is used as a partition component in telephone cable connecting Europe and America.

Machine building industry of the region specializes in production of: various types of buses, trolley buses, automobile cranes (Open Joint Stock companies "LAZ, "Drogobytsky zavod avtomobilnykh kraniv","Drobobytsky mashinostroitelny zavod", Plant LANT");
small buses intended for mountainous terrain (plant "Stryiauto", Open Joint Stock company "Stryisky zavod Metalist"); truck loaders, including those of small lifting capacity (1.6 to 1.8t and 3...4t), electric loaders and battery operated trucks (Plant "LANT");
small carrying capacity running gears, including those for trailers, minibuses for rural areas and trade ("Joint Stock Company "Zavod Lvivcilskomash", Institute Ukravtobudprom" "LAZ");
assembly unit and parts for transport machine building industry (Joint Stock company "Lvivsky zavod gidromekhanicheskikh peredach", Plant "LANT", "Stryisky zavod Metalist");
bicycles and bikes (Joint Stock company "Lviv motozavod"); a wide range of agricultural machinery ("Plant "Lvivsilmash", Joint Stock company "Konveer", Novorazdildkiy zavod "Karpaty").

Instrumentation and radioelectronics hardware industry produces:
· automatic control and regulation hardware for all types of power generation equipment (DP "Lvivprilad");
· filament lamps (Joint Stock company "Iskra");
· vacuum hardware (generating lamps, vacuum condensers, gas lasers (Amalgamation "Polyaron");
· communication hardware, facsimile hardware, newspaper and image transmission appliances, meteo and photo data transmission appliances (Lviv telegraph manufacturers);
· medical radoelectronics hardware (EKG, SEKGs, defibrillating appliances)(Plant REMA);
· machining tools (Joint Stock company "Lviv machining tools plant", Joint Stock company "Almazinstrument");
· power transmission line insulators (Closed Joint Stock company "Lviv insulators plant" - the only high output production of this type in Ukraine).

Agroindustrial complex

Agricultural industry of the region possesses 1275.8 thousand ha of arable lands that make up 3.1 % of those of Ukraine. Arable land proper portion makes up 67.0%, hayfields - 11.8%, pastures - 19.4%, perennial plants - 1.8%.

Major agricultural zones are: mountain Carpathian (cattle breeding), Polissya (milk and meat cows, flax), forest/steppe region (milk and meat cattle breeding, sugar beat), near city region (milk and meat cattle breeding, poultry farming, vegetables).

Infrastructure of the Region

Extremely favorable geographical position of the Lviv region, i.e., crossing of important transport routed between Baltic countries and southwest Europe, dictated the development of transport facilities and construction. The region is crossed by six major railway roads and five highways.

There's an airport able to handle transport aviation.

The Lviv railways system covers the territory of seven western regions of Ukraine, has 12 cross points at the State border and is united with railways of Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland and Byelorussia.

In future, it is planned to construct a European standard 84km run over to the Ukrainian-Poland border). The project envisages also the reconstruction of the Lviv railway terminal, construction on International railway terminal and a four star hotel.

The Lviv region has a common 278.2km long border with Polish regions: Krosnenky, Peremyshlsky, Zamostsky. There're the following control posts:
automobile transport: Rava-Russka (International); Shegini-Medika (International); Krakivets-Korchova (Polish-Ukrainian) railway: Rava-Russka - Verkhrata(Ukrainian-Poland, passenger and cargo trains);
Mosttistka-2-Meduka (International (passenger and cargo trains);
Khyriv-Krostsenko (Ukrainian-Poland, passenger trains).

Operating are also two posts of regional character: Smylnytsya-Krostsenko, Varyazh-Usmezh widely used by local population.

The Lviv Air Terminal can service both passenger and transport airlines. International airlines connect Lviv with Russia, Middle East, Central and Western Europe, Canada and USA, and surely with most cities of Ukraine. A military base Stryya is located 40 km from Lviv that carries out air transport operations. Reconstruction and modernisation of both terminals is planned in the nearest future. The reconstruction over, their handling capacity will be 5 to 6 time higher.
The region has a developed pipeline system. Across the territory of the region the oil pipeline "Druzba", its run in the region being 521km long, was laid in early sixties.

Lviv operates 29 telephone stations, their installation capacity approximating to 170 thousand subscribers.
Republic and international lines are operated by the "UTEL" station build around a digital equipment supplied by AT&T.

The UMC (Ukrainian mobile communication) company operates a honeycomb communication network.

Foreign Economic Relations

The Lviv region actively participates in International Association "Carpathian Euroregion" and supports a close cooperation with nearest regions of Poland, Slovenia, Hungary.
Consulates of three foreign states were opened in Lviv: Republic of Poland, Kingdom of Netherlands and Russia Federation.

In modern conditions, national economy cannot do without interregional cooperation. Agreements were made between Lviv region and regions of Poland (Chenstokhonskoe, Peremyshlskoe, Zamostkskoe), Hungary (Baranya), Russia (Vologodsk and Ekaterinburg regions), Byelorussia (Minsk region) and Kordoba province of Argentine.

Are now being negotiated the agreements with Shtyriya Region of Austria, State Parana of Brazil, Krakow Region of Poland. Foreign economic operations are effected with more than 70 countries of the world, their turnover approximating to $ million in 1997.

The export major items were alcoholic and refreshment drinks, sewing products, buses, meat and foodstuffs, mineral fertilizers, paper and cardboard, cars and trucks, medicinal preparations.
Foreign investments in the regions amount to $67.2 million.

The main form of attracting foreign investments Is creation of joint ventures with foreign investments. Over 1300 such enterprises were created in the region with founders from 50 foreign countries.

The above information was obtained from a CD-ROM entitled "Ukraine - A look to the 21st Century" published by the Regional Business Assistance Center (RBAC), Kharkiv. Copies of the complete CD-ROM can be obtained from either CEI or RBAC.

Lviv Oblast

Facts and Figures How to get there

The above information was obtained from a CD-ROM entitled "Ukraine - A look to the 21st Century" published by the Regional Business Assistance Center (RBAC), Kharkiv. Copies of the complete CD-ROM can be obtained from either CEI or RBAC.

Page last updated: January 19, 2004.