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The population of Ukraine was estimated in
1996 at 51,230,000, giving the a population density of 85 persons per sq km (220 per sq mi).
The most notable recent demographic trend has been a decline in
population—with an estimated loss of 714,000 between 1991 and 1996—due to death rates
exceeding birth rates. About 68 percent of the population lives in cities and towns. The
largest cities in Ukraine are Kyiv, the country’s capital and
economic, cultural, and educational center; Kharkiv, noted for
its engineering expertise, machinery plants, and educational institutions; Dnipropetrovs’k,
a center of metallurgical and aerospace industries; and Donetsk,
known for mining and metallurgy. Odesa (Odessa), on
the Black Sea coast, is the country’s largest seaport.
Ethnic Groups and Languages Ethnic Ukrainians comprise 73 percent of the population of Ukraine. Russians are the largest minority group at 22 percent. Jews (considered both an ethnic and a religious group Ukraine) and Belarusians each account for about 1 percent of the total. Other numerically significant groups are Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, and Romanians. Since the end of World War II in 1945, the proportion of Russians nearly doubled, while the Jewish population declined by about half as a result of emigration. Ethnic clashes are rare. The Crimean Tatars, who were forcibly deported to Central Asia in 1944, are being allowed to resettle in Crimea. Of the 250,000 who have returned, about 100,000 still have inadequate housing and 70,000 have not yet received Ukrainian citizenship. The official language of the country is Ukrainian, which forms with Russian and Belarusian the eastern branch of the Slavic language subfamily of Indo-European languages. Russian also is widely used, especially in the cities. Religion Religious activity remained relatively strong in Ukraine, and it has greatly expanded since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. A majority of the population, or 67 percent, adheres to Eastern Orthodoxy in alliance with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the Ukrainian Autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Church. Until 1990 all of the country’s Orthodox churches were part of the Ukrainian exarchate, which was subsidiary to the patriarchate (jurisdiction of the patriarch, or head) of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1992 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church split into two rival denominations when the Kyivan patriarchate was formed, separating itself from the Moscow patriarchate. The autocephalous church, which was banned by the Soviet government in 1930, regained legal status in 1990. Nearly 10 percent of the population, based almost exclusively in western Ukraine, belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate) Church, a church of the Byzantine rite; banned in 1946, this church was officially revived in 1991. Other denominations include Roman Catholics of the Latin rite, Jews, Muslims, and Baptists.
Source: Microsoft Encarta 98© |