Ukraine is the fifth largest countryEurope by population. The number of people living in this country, according to the 2001 census, was 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 Tripolyans who inhabitedthe area between the Dniester, the Dnieper and the Southern Bug is 3.5-2 thousand years BC, as well as the early Slavs, who came here in the Carpathian region a little later. They were engaged in farming and led a sedentary life. It was these peoples that formed the basis of the future Ukrainian nation.
For several centuries in a row, numerousinvasions of various nomadic tribes in the Slavic lands. But, despite borrowing some features of their culture, Ukrainians were able to preserve 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 partly scattered throughout the world.
general information
The densely populated places are considered northerneastern and central parts. 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 the Crimean Tatars, Russians, Belarusians, Poles, Jews, Romanians, Moldovans and others.
Modern state
In Ukrainian identity documents(except for birth certificate), the national identity of the person is not specified. Therefore, people born on the territory of Ukraine automatically become its citizens. In addition, they are an integral part of the indigenous people, despite their religion, nationality, language and political views.
Этнические меньшинства, к которым относятся люди, not originally Ukrainians, but consciously following the rules and regulations of the current legislation, in the aggregate represent the national composition of Ukraine and are under state protection, as well as the native inhabitants.
Kiev International Institute of Sociology heldresearch in the field of determining the ethnic affiliation of citizens of a 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% are mono-ethnic Russians, and 5% of people belonging to other groups.
Population of the central regions
Consider the national composition of Ukraine by regions, and begin with the Kiev. Her cities, urban settlements and villages are inhabited by representatives of non-titular ethnic groups.
Most Ukrainians 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 more, since a huge number of foreigners and people coming from other cities work and study here.
The territory of the Zhytomyr region is multinational.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 a 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%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
We continue to explore the national composition of Ukraineby regions and proceed to the eastern part of the state. About eighty ethnic groups live in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainians constitute more than 60% of the total population. They are followed by Russians (30%). The rest of the society is represented by Belarusians, Tatars, Armenians and others.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region lives firstlarge Ukrainian community. The indigenous population here is 70%. The second largest ethnic group is Russians (25%). They are concentrated mainly in industrial centers. Among other nationalities stand out Jews and Belarusians.
Donetsk region is a leader in the number ofpopulation. It has 4.5 million inhabitants. The main part consists of Ukrainians (50%), Belarusians and Russians (42%), as well as Jews, Germans, and others. The largest cities are Donetsk, Mariupol, Kramatorsk and Makeevka.
On the territory of Lugansk region the national compositionUkraine is more diverse than in the areas adjacent to it. Numerous people remain with a purely Ukrainian nationality (more than 50%). They are followed by Russians (less than 40%), Belarusians, Tatars, and representatives of over one hundred other ethnic groups. Lugansk region is fifth in Ukraine in terms of population density.
Southern regions
Ukrainian dominates in Zaporizhia regionnation (60%). This region of the country belongs to the few areas where a large number of people with Russian roots live (30%). Among other minorities can be distinguished Belarusians and Bulgarians. The latter, as a rule, live in Primorye.
In the Kherson region in 1989, the Ukrainians82% lived. Later this figure increased to 84.6%. The Russians ranked second in terms of population, but the 2001 census showed that in this region there were 33.8% fewer. Among other national minorities are the Crimean Tatars, Belarusians and Poles.
In the Nikolaev area the share of Ukrainians exceeded75%. In the northwestern regions, their number reaches 90%. Russian residents, there are about 20%. Moldavians and Belarusians living in the northern part of the region also remain numerous.
Odessa region accounts for 55% of Ukrainianpopulation and 25% - Russian. Among the few national minorities need to distinguish the Bulgarians, Gagauz and Moldovans. Also in the Odessa region there are Czechs, Greeks, Albanians and Poles. The indigenous population occupies almost all of its central and northern territories.
AR Crimea and the city of Sevastopol:74.4% of Russians and 20.6% of Ukrainians fall on the ethnic composition of these lands, the remaining 5% are Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Germans, Jews, Latvians, Poles, Koreans, Estonians, etc. Also, people with mixed nationalities live here, Tatars and gypsies.
Right bank
Волынская область - это Западная Украина.The ethnic composition of the population of this territory is almost uniform due to its geographical location. The majority of residents 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 data in 2001 speak ofthat the territory of Chernivtsi region is inhabited by representatives of 80 ethnic groups. Here, almost the entire population consists of Ukrainians (75%). They predominate in the northeastern and western parts of the region. It should be said that among the indigenous population such sub-ethnic groups as Bessarabians, Hutsuls and Rusyns are distinguished. The first live mainly in the northeastern part, the second - in the western region, and the third - between the Prut and Dniester rivers.
The second largest nationality of Chernivtsi region is Romanians (10%). They are followed by Moldovans (approximately 9%), and only 7% of the inhabitants have Russian roots.
Transcarpathian region replenishes nationalitiesUkraine various nationalities living in it. This, for example, Hungarians (12.5%) and Slovaks (0.6%). Indigenous people - of course, the Ukrainians. And of the total number of their population, there are more than 80%. In addition to them, Russians (4%), Romanians, Gypsies, Germans, Belarusians, Italians and representatives of other nations live here.
The population of the regions
Ukraine consists of an impressive amountethnographic lands. Each of them is characterized by individual culture, traditions and ethnic group. For many of them, some lands belong to others (for example, Pokut'e 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 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 national minorities live mostly in the border areas of the country, but in the central regions Ukrainians prevail.
