Ukraine is the fifth largest country in Europe in terms of population. The number of people living in this country, according to 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 of the interfluve of the Dniester, Dnieper and the Southern Bug another 3.5-2 thousand years BC, as well as the early Slavs who came here and in the Carpathian region a bit later. They were engaged in agriculture and led a settled life. It is these peoples that formed the basis of the future Ukrainian nation.
Several centuries in a row, numerous invasions of various nomadic tribes into the Slavic lands were carried out. But, despite the borrowing of some 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 nations of the world, compactly settled in the very center of Europe and partially scattered around the world.
general information
Densely populated areas are the northern, eastern and central parts. Fewer people live in the western and southern regions. Most of the inhabitants are Ukrainians (approximately 78%), which 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, Moldavians and others.
Modern state
In Ukrainian identity documents (except for a birth certificate), the nationality of a person is not indicated. Therefore, people born in Ukraine automatically become its citizens. In addition, they are an integral part of the indigenous people, despite their religion, nationality, language and political views.
Ethnic minorities, which include people who are not originally Ukrainians, but who consciously follow the rules and regulations of the current legislation, together represent the national composition of Ukraine and are protected by the state, as well as the original inhabitants.
Kiev 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 obtained, 62% of the mono-ethnic Ukrainian people live in the state, 23% are bio-ethnic Russian-Ukrainians, 10% are mono-ethnic Russians, as well as 5% of people belonging to other groups.
The population of the central regions
Consider the national composition of Ukraine by region, and start with the Kiev. Its cities, urban settlements and villages are inhabited by representatives of non-titular ethnic groups.
Mostly Ukrainians live here (approximately 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 larger, 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 regions 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 is approaching 100%. Residents with Russian roots account for only 11% of the total number of citizens. In addition to them, the region is inhabited by Bulgarians, Moldavians and Belarusians.
Left bank
We 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 Kharkov region. Ukrainians make up more than 60% of the total population. They are followed by Russians (30%). The rest of 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. 4.5 million inhabitants live here. The bulk are 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 Luhansk region, the national composition of Ukraine is more diverse than in the areas adjacent to it. Numerous people remain with purely Ukrainian nationality (more than 50%). They are followed by Russians (less than 40%), Belarusians, Tatars and representatives of more than a hundred other ethnic groups. Lugansk region in terms of population density ranks fifth in Ukraine.
Southern regions
In the Zaporizhzhya region, the Ukrainian nation dominates (60%). This region of the country belongs to the 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%. Russians took the second place in the population, but the 2001 census showed that in this region there were less by 33.8%. Among other national minorities, Crimean Tatars, Belarusians and Poles stand out.
In the Nikolaev area the share of Ukrainians exceeded 75%. In the northwestern regions, their number reaches 90%. Russian residents account for about 20%. Also numerous are Moldovans and Belarusians living in the northern part of the region.
Odessa region has 55% of the Ukrainian population and 25% of the Russian. Among the other few minorities, it is necessary to highlight the Bulgarians, Gagauz and Moldavians. Also in the Odessa region there are Czechs, Greeks, Albanians and Poles. The indigenous population occupies almost all of its central and northern territories.
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% - Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Germans, Jews, Latvians, Poles, Koreans, Estonians, etc. Also live here people with mixed nationalities, Tatars and gypsies.
Right bank
Volyn region is Western Ukraine. The ethnic composition of the population of this territory is almost homogeneous due to its geographical location. The majority of residents are Ukrainians (more than 95%). Also, Russians (4%), Poles (0.5%), and others live here. The same situation exists in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Khmelnytsky, Vinnitsa, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopol and Cherkasy regions.
The census data in 2001 indicate that the territory of the Chernivtsi region is populated by representatives of 80 nationalities. Here, almost the entire population consists of Ukrainians (75%). They prevail in the north-eastern and western parts of the region. It should be said that among the indigenous population such subethnic groups as Bessarabians, Hutsuls and Ruthenians are distinguished. The former live mainly in the northeast, the latter in the western region, and the latter 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%). Indigenous people - of course, Ukrainians. And out of the total population there are more than 80%. In addition to them, Russians (4%), Romanians, Gypsies, Germans, Belarusians, Italians and representatives of other peoples live here.
The population of the regions
Ukraine consists of an impressive number of ethnographic lands. Each of them is characterized by an individual culture, traditions and ethnic group. Many of them have some land included in others (for example, Pokutye is located in Galicia). All this divided the modern national composition of Ukraine by region, which still affects their structure and dynamics. It should be noted that the main national minorities in the state are eight:
- Russians (8 334.1 thousand);
- Belarusians (275.8 thousand);
- Moldavians (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-mentioned national minorities live mostly in the border areas of the country, but in the central regions Ukrainians prevail.