Ukraine is the fifth largest country in Europe in terms of population. The number of people living in the territory of this country, according to the results of the 2001 census, amounted to 42.8 million. The figure below shows the national composition of Ukraine as a percentage.
A bit of history
The ancestors of the Ukrainians were Trypillians, who inhabited the territory between the Dniester, Dnieper and Southern Bug rivers as early as 3.5-2 thousand years BC, as well as the early Slavs, who came here and in the Carpathians a little later. They were engaged in agriculture and led a sedentary life. It was these peoples that formed the basis of the future Ukrainian nation.
Several centuries in a row there were numerous invasions of various nomadic tribes on the Slavic lands. But, despite borrowing some of the features of their culture, the Ukrainians were able to maintain their national identity. It manifests itself not only in language, but also in spiritual culture.
Now Ukrainians are one of the great peoples of the world, compactly settled in the very center of Europe and partially scattered around the world.
General information
The northern, eastern and central parts are considered densely populated. Fewer people live in the western and southern regions. Most of the inhabitants are Ukrainians (approximately 78%), who are one of the most ancient ethnic groups on the planet. The national composition of Ukraine also includes Crimean Tatars, Russians, Belarusians, Poles, Jews, Romanians, Moldovans and others.
Modern state
In Ukrainian identity documents (except for a birth certificate), a person's nationality is not indicated. Therefore, people born on the territory of Ukraine automatically become its citizens. In addition, they are an integral part of the indigenous people, regardless of their religion, nationality, language and political views.
Ethnic minorities, which include people who are not originally Ukrainians, but consciously following the rules and norms of the current legislation, collectively represent the national composition of Ukraine and are under the protection of the state, as well as the original inhabitants.
Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted research in the field of determining the ethnicity of citizens of the country by the method of their free self-identification. Their analysis showed that the national composition of Ukraine is extremely diverse. According to the data received, 62% of the mono-ethnic Ukrainian people live on the territory of the state, 23% are bi-ethnic Russian-Ukrainians, 10% -mono-ethnic Russians, as well as 5% of people belonging to other groups.
Population of the central regions
Let's consider the national composition of Ukraine by regions, and start with Kyiv. Its cities, towns and villages are inhabited by representatives of non-titular ethnic groups.
Ukrainians mostly live here (about 90%). The remaining 10% are Belarusians and other nationalities. As of 2001, 2,607.4 thousand people lived in the capital. It is worth noting that in fact this figure is much higher, since a huge number of foreigners and people coming from other cities work and study here.
The territory of the Zhytomyr region is multinational. People of 85 nationalities live here! More than 80% of them are Ukrainians. The share of Russians in comparison with other areas is small - only 8%. A distinctive feature of Zhytomyr is the large number of Poles living here, especially in the western part of the region. There are very few people with Belarusian roots, despite the fact that the border with Belarus is nearby.
Kirovograd region is inhabited by over 85% of Ukrainians. And in the northeast, their number approaches 100%. Residents with Russian roots, there are only 11% of the total number of citizens. In addition to them, the region is inhabited by Bulgarians, Moldovans and Belarusians.
Left Bank
Let's continue to explore the national composition of Ukraine by regions and move on to the eastern part of the state. About eighty ethnic groups live in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainians make up more than 60% ofthe entire population. They are followed by Russians (30%). The rest of the society is represented by Belarusians, Tatars, Armenians and others.
The first large Ukrainian community lives in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The indigenous population here is 70%. The second largest ethnic group is Russians (25%). They are concentrated mainly in industrial centers. Among other nationalities, Jews and Belarusians stand out.
Donetsk region is the leader in terms of population. It is home to 4.5 million inhabitants. The main part is made up of Ukrainians (50%), Belarusians and Russians (42%), as well as Jews, Germans, etc. The most populated cities are the largest cities - Donetsk, Mariupol, Kramatorsk and Makeevka.
On the territory of the Lugansk region, the national composition of Ukraine is more diverse than in the regions adjacent to it. People with purely Ukrainian nationality remain numerous (more than 50%). They are followed by Russians (less than 40%), Belarusians, Tatars and representatives of over a hundred other ethnic groups. Luhansk region ranks fifth in Ukraine in terms of population density.
Southern Regions
Ukrainian nation prevails in Zaporozhye region (60%). This region of the country belongs to those few territories where a large number of people with Russian roots live (30%). Among other national minorities, Belarusians and Bulgarians can be distinguished. The latter, as a rule, live in Primorye.
In the Kherson region in 1989, 82% of Ukrainians lived. Later this figure increased to 84.6%. Secondthe place in terms of population was occupied by Russians, but the 2001 census showed that they decreased by 33.8% in this region. Among other national minorities, Crimean Tatars, Belarusians and Poles stand out.
In the Mykolaiv region, the share of Ukrainians exceeded 75%. In the northwestern regions, their number reaches 90%. There are about 20% Russian residents. Moldovans and Belarusians living in the northern part of the region also remain numerous.
Odessa region has 55% Ukrainian population and 25% Russian. Among other few national minorities, Bulgarians, Gagauzians and Moldovans should be singled out. Also in the Odessa region there are Czechs, Greeks, Albanians and Poles. The indigenous population occupies almost all of its central and northern territories.
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol: the ethnic composition of these lands falls to 74.4% of Russians and 20.6% of Ukrainians, the remaining 5% are Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Germans, Jews, Latvians, Poles, Koreans, Estonians and etc. People with mixed nationalities, Tatars and Gypsies also live here.
Right Bank
Volyn region is Western Ukraine. The ethnic composition of the population of this territory is practically homogeneous due to its geographical location. The bulk of the inhabitants are Ukrainians (more than 95%). Russians (4%), Poles (0.5%) and others also live here. The same situation is in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil and Cherkasy regions.
Census datain 2001 they say that the territory of the Chernivtsi region is inhabited by representatives of 80 nationalities. Here, almost the entire population consists of Ukrainians (75%). They dominate in the northeastern and western parts of the region. It should be said that among the indigenous population there are such sub-ethnic groups as Bessarabians, Hutsuls and Rusyns. The first live mainly in the north-eastern part, the second - in the western region, and the third - between the Prut and Dniester rivers.
The second largest nationality of the Chernivtsi region is Romanians (10%). They are followed by Moldovans (approximately 9%), and only 7% of the inhabitants have Russian roots.
The Transcarpathian region replenishes the nationalities of Ukraine with various nationalities living in it. These are, for example, Hungarians (12.5%) and Slovaks (0.6%). The natives are, of course, Ukrainians. And they account for more than 80% of the total population. In addition to them, Russians (4%), Romanians, Gypsies, Germans, Belarusians, Italians and representatives of other nations live here.
Population of regions
Ukraine consists of an impressive number of ethnographic lands. Each of them is characterized by individual culture, traditions and ethnicity. For many of them, some lands are included in others (for example, Pokutya is located in Galicia). All this divided the modern national composition of Ukraine into regions, which still affects their structure and dynamics. It should be noted that there are eight main national minorities in the state:
- Russians (8,334.1 thousand);
- Belarusians (275.8 thousand);
- Moldovans (258.6 thousand);
-Crimean Tatars (248.2 thousand);
- Bulgarians (204.6 thousand);
- Hungarians (156.6 thousand);
- Romanians (151. 0 thousand);- Poles (144, 1 thousand).
The above ethnic minorities live mostly in the border areas of the country, but Ukrainians dominate in the central regions.
