Editing Ukraine (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Ukraine|Ukrainians}}

Before the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] the country had an estimated population of over 41 million people, and was the [[List of European countries by population|eighth-most populous country]] in Europe. It is a [[Urbanization by country|heavily urbanized country]], and its industrial regions in the east and southeast are the most densely populated—about 67% of its total population lives in urban areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ukraine_statistics.html |title=Ukraine – Statistics |access-date=7 January 2008 |website=[[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF) |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403051640/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ukraine_statistics.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> At that time Ukraine had a [[list of countries by population density|population density]] of {{convert|69.5|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}}, and the overall [[List of countries by life expectancy|life expectancy in the country]] at birth was 73 years (68 years for males and 77.8 years for females).<ref>{{cite web |title=Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy, data by country |publisher=World Health Organization |url=https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.688 |date=2020 |access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref>

Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], Ukraine's population hit a peak of roughly 52 million in 1993. However, due to its [[death rate]] exceeding its [[birth rate]], mass emigration, poor living conditions, and low-quality health care,<ref name=nw-20260217>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/nolan-peterson-why-ukraine-population-shrinking-559697 |title=Why Is Ukraine's Population Shrinking? |last=Peterson |first=Nolan |newspaper=Newsweek |date=26 February 2017 |access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=ukrstat-population>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua/operativ/operativ2007/ds/nas_rik/nas_e/nas_rik_e.html |title=Population |publisher=State Statistics Service of Ukraine |access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref> the total population decreased by 6.6 million, or 12.8% from the same year to 2014.

According to the [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 census]], ethnic [[Ukrainians]] made up roughly 78% of the population, while [[Russians in Ukraine|Russians]] were the largest minority, at some 17.3% of the population. Small minority populations included: [[Belarusians]] (0.6%), [[Moldovans]] (0.5%), [[Crimean Tatars]] (0.5%), [[Bulgarians]] (0.4%), [[Hungarians]] (0.3%), [[Romanians]] (0.3%), [[Polish people|Poles]] (0.3%), [[Jews]] (0.3%), [[Armenians]] (0.2%), [[Greeks]] (0.2%) and [[Tatars]] (0.2%).<ref name="Ethnic composition of the population of Ukraine, 2001 Census">{{cite web |url=http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/ |title=Population by ethnic nationality, 1 January, year |website=ukrcensus.gov.ua |publisher=Ukrainian Office of Statistics |access-date=17 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111217151026/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/ |archive-date=17 December 2011}}</ref> It was also estimated that there were about 10–40,000 [[Koreans]] in Ukraine, who lived mostly in the south of the country, belonging to the historical [[Koryo-saram]] group,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ukrainer.net/koreans-of-ukraine-who-are-they/ |title=Koreans of Ukraine. Who are they? |work=Ukrainer |date=30 October 2019 |access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://birdinflight.com/inspiration/experience/20170718-ethnic-koreans-jung-sung-tae.html |title=Phantom Syndrome: Ethnic Koreans in Ukraine |website=Bird In Flight |author=Alina Sandulyak |date=18 July 2017 |access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> as well as about 47,600 [[Romani people|Roma]] (though the [[Council of Europe]] estimates a higher number of about 260,000).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ukraine - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples |url=https://minorityrights.org/country/ukraine/ |website=Minority Rights Group |date=19 June 2015}}</ref>

Outside the former Soviet Union, the largest source of incoming immigrants in Ukraine's post-independence period was from four Asian countries, namely China, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.<ref name="mp">{{cite web |title=Caught Between East and West, Ukraine Struggles with Its Migration Policy |date=January 2006 |publisher=Migration Policy Institute |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/caught-between-east-and-west-ukraine-struggles-its-migration-policy}}</ref> In the late 2010s 1.4 million Ukrainians were [[internally displaced]] due to the [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|war in Donbas]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/national-monitoring-system-report-situation-internally-displaced-persons-march-2020 |title=National Monitoring System Report on the Situation of Internally Displaced Persons – March 2020 – Ukraine |website=ReliefWeb |date=21 January 2021}}</ref> and in early 2022, over 4.1 million fled the country in the aftermath of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], causing the [[Ukrainian refugee crisis]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hatoum |first1=Bassam |last2=Keaten |first2=Jamey |date=30 March 2022 |title=Number of Ukraine refugees passes worst-case U.N. estimate |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-migration-united-nations-5c10d8fed0cbcc003f64b478fd217620 |work=[[Associated Press]] |location=Medyka |access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref> Most male Ukrainian nationals aged 18 to 60 were denied exit from Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kramer |first=Andrew |date=3 April 2024 |title=Zelensky Lowers Ukraine's Draft Age, Risking Political Backlash |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/world/europe/zelensky-ukraine-military-draft-age.html |website=New York Times}}</ref> The Ukrainian government estimates that the population in the regions controlled by Ukraine was 25 to 27 million in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pancevski |first1=Bojan |title=One Million Are Now Dead or Injured in the Russia-Ukraine War |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/one-million-are-now-dead-or-injured-in-the-russia-ukraine-war-b09d04e5 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=17 September 2024}}</ref>

=== Language ===
{{main|Languages of Ukraine}}
{{further|Ukrainian language|Russian language in Ukraine}}

According to Ukraine's constitution, the [[official language|state language]] is [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]].<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/> [[Russian language|Russian]] is widely spoken in the country, especially in eastern and southern Ukraine.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Armitage |first=Susie |date=2022-04-08 |title='Ukrainian has become a symbol': interest in language spikes amid Russia invasion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/08/ukrainian-langauge-interest-spikes-support-country-war |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=The Guardian |language=en |quote=Like most Ukrainians, Sophia Reshetniak, 20, is fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian.}}</ref> Most native Ukrainian speakers know Russian as a second language.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/> Russian was the ''de facto'' dominant language of the Soviet Union but Ukrainian also held official status in the republic,<ref>{{cite book |author=L.A. Grenoble |title=Language Policy in the Soviet Union |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nn3xDTiL0PQC&pg=PA1 |year=2003 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4020-1298-3 |page=1}}</ref> and in the schools of the [[Ukrainian SSR]], learning Ukrainian was mandatory.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN">[[Serhy Yekelchyk]] ''Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation'', [[Oxford University Press]] (2007), {{ISBN|978-0-19-530546-3}}</ref>

[[File:UkraineNativeLanguagesCensus2001detailed-en.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Linguistic map of Ukraine showing most common native language by city, town, or village council, according to the [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 census]]]]

Effective in August 2012, [[Legislation on languages in Ukraine|a new law on regional languages]] entitled any local language spoken by at least a 10&nbsp;percent minority be declared official within that area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/yanukovych-signs-language-bill-into-law-311230.html |title=Yanukovych signs language bill into law |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=8 August 2012 |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> Within weeks, Russian was declared a regional language of several southern and eastern [[Oblasts of Ukraine|oblasts]] (provinces) and cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/russian-spreads-like-wildfires-in-dry-ukrainian-forest-311949.html |title=Russian spreads like wildfires in dry Ukrainian forest |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=23 August 2012 |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> Russian could then be used in the administrative office work and documents of those places.<ref name=NewUklang2892012>{{cite news |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/romanian-becomes-regional-language-in-bila-tserkva-in-zakarpattia-region-313373.html |title=Romanian becomes regional language in Bila Tserkva in Zakarpattia region |newspaper=[[Kyiv Post]] |agency=Interfax-Ukraine |date=24 September 2012 |access-date=20 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Michael Schwirtz |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ukraine/index.html |title=Ukraine |date=5 July 2012 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 2014, following the [[Revolution of Dignity]], the [[Ukrainian Parliament]] voted to repeal the law on regional languages, making Ukrainian the sole state language at all levels; however, the repeal was not signed by acting [[Oleksandr Turchynov|President Turchynov]] or by President Poroshenko.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=45291 |script-title=uk:Проект Закону про визнання таким, що втратив чинність, Закону України "Про засади державної мовної політики" |trans-title=Draft Law on the recognition of the void Law of Ukraine "On the basic principles of State Language Policy" |language=uk |publisher=Ukrainian Parliament |access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ian Traynor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/23/ukraine-crisis-western-nations-eu-russia |title=Western nations scramble to contain fallout from Ukraine crisis |date=24 February 2014 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Andrew Kramer |title=Ukraine Turns to Its Oligarchs for Political Help |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/world/europe/ukraine-turns-to-its-oligarchs-for-political-help.html |access-date=2 March 2014 |newspaper=New York Times |date=2 March 2014}}</ref> In 2019, the law allowing for official use of regional languages was found unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web |date=28 February 2018 |title=Constitutional Court Declares Law On Language Policy Unconstitutional |url=https://ukranews.com/en/news/550164-constitutional-court-declares-law-on-language-policy-unconstitutional |website=ukranews.com}}</ref> According to the Council of Europe, this act fails to achieve fair protection of the [[linguistic rights]] of [[Minority language|minorities]].<ref>{{cite web |title=New Language Requirement Raises Concerns in Ukraine |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/19/new-language-requirement-raises-concerns-ukraine |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=19 January 2022}}</ref>

Ukrainian is the primary language used in the vast majority of Ukraine. 67% of Ukrainians speak Ukrainian as their primary language, while 30% speak Russian as their primary language.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2022 |title=Language data for Ukraine |url=https://translatorswithoutborders.org/language-data-for-ukraine/ |access-date=11 March 2023 |website=Translators without Borders |language=en-US}}</ref> In eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian is the primary language in some cities, while Ukrainian is used in rural areas. [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] is spoken in [[Zakarpattia Oblast]].<ref name="unian.info">{{cite news |title=Hungary plays ethnic card in all neighboring countries: experts explain "language row" with Ukraine |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/2285671-hungary-plays-ethnic-card-in-all-neighboring-countries-experts-explain-language-row-with-ukraine.html |work=[[Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|Unian]] |date=7 December 2017}}</ref> There is no consensus among scholars whether [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], also spoken in Zakarpattia, is a distinct language or a dialect of Ukrainian.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moser |first=Michael A. |chapter=Rusyn: A New-Old Language In-between Nations and States |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Slavic Languages, Identities and Borders |year=2016 |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |pages=124–139 |doi=10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_7 |isbn=978-1-349-57703-3 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_7 |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114121225/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_7 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Ukrainian government does not recognise Rusyn and [[Rusyns]] as a distinct language and people.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Rusyn history and culture |date=2002 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto, Ont. |isbn=0802035663}}</ref>

For a large part of the Soviet era, the number of Ukrainian speakers declined from generation to generation, and by the mid-1980s, the usage of the Ukrainian language in public life had decreased significantly.<ref name=Shamshur>Shamshur, pp. 159–168</ref> Following independence, the government of Ukraine began restoring the use of the Ukrainian language in schools and government through a policy of [[Ukrainisation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov.ua/Sections/Revolution_2004/UKL/photos.php?UKL302 |title=Світова преса про вибори в Україні-2004 (Ukrainian Elections-2004 as mirrored in the World Press) |access-date=7 January 2008 |website=Архіви України (National Archives of Ukraine) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108154958/http://www.archives.gov.ua/Sections/Revolution_2004/UKL/photos.php?UKL302 |archive-date=8 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-language/criticism-of-ukraines-language-law-justified-rights-body-idUSKBN1E227K |title=Criticism of Ukraine's language law justified: rights body |work=[[Reuters]] |date=7 December 2017}}</ref> Today, most foreign films and TV programmes, including Russian ones, are subtitled or dubbed in Ukrainian.<ref>{{cite news |title=New language law could kill independent media ahead of 2019 elections |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/new-language-law-could-kill-independent-media-ahead-of-2019-elections.html |work=[[Kyiv Post]] |date=19 October 2018}}</ref> Ukraine's 2017 [[Education in Ukraine|education law]] bars primary education in public schools in grade five and up in any language but Ukrainian.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukrainian Language Bill Facing Barrage Of Criticism From Minorities, Foreign Capitals |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-language-legislation-minority-languages-russia-hungary-romania/28753925.html |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |date=24 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine defends education reform as Hungary promises 'pain' |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/ukraine-defends-education-reform-as-hungary-promises-pain-1.3235916 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=27 September 2017}}</ref>

=== Diaspora ===
{{main|Ukrainian diaspora }}
The Ukrainian [[diaspora]] comprises [[Ukrainians]] and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community.<ref>Vic Satzewich, ''The Ukrainian Diaspora'' (Routledge, 2003).</ref> The Ukrainian diaspora is found throughout numerous regions worldwide including other [[post-Soviet states]] as well as in [[Canadian Ukrainian|Canada]],<ref name="Cecco 2022 u131">{{cite web |last=Cecco |first=Leyland |title=In Canada, world's second largest Ukrainian diaspora grieves invasion |website=the Guardian |date=March 3, 2022 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/canada-ukraine-diaspora-relief-efforts-russia-attack |access-date=September 3, 2023}}</ref> and other countries such as [[Ukrainians in Poland|Poland]],<ref>{{cite news |date=2022-03-15 |title=How many refugees have fled Ukraine and where are they going? |language=en-GB |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472 |access-date=2022-03-16}}</ref> [[Ukrainian Americans|the United States]],<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-02-25 |title='Lot of determination': Ukrainian Americans rally for their country |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/25/ukrainian-americans-solidarity-ukraine |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> the UK<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61548979 |title=Ukrainian refugees are now living in the UK - so how is it going? |work=BBC News |date=28 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2022-07-30/hosts-of-ukrainians-in-uk-to-receive-government-praise-for-generosity |title=Hosts of Ukrainians in UK to receive government praise for generosity |date=30 July 2022}}</ref> and [[Brazil]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada has opened its doors for war-ravaged Ukrainians. Does it have the capacity? - National {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8678777/canada-ukraine-immigration-plan-russia-war/ |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref>

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the [[Ukrainian refugee crisis]] in which millions of Ukrainian civilians moved to neighbouring countries. Most crossed into Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, and others proceeded to at least temporarily settle in Hungary, Moldova, Germany, Austria, Romania and other European countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2022/3/622b257f4/unhcr-scales-displaced-war-ukraine-deploys-cash-assistance.html |author=UNHCR |date=2022-03-11 |title=UNHCR scales up for those displaced by war in Ukraine, deploys cash assistance |newspaper=Unhcr}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion in Ukraine}}
[[File:80-391-0151 Kyiv St.Sophia's Cathedral RB 18 2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv|Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv]], a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/527 |title=Kyiv Saint Sophia Cathedral |access-date=8 July 2008 |website=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ([[UNESCO]]) |publisher=UN}}</ref> is one of the main Christian cathedrals in Ukraine]]
Ukraine has the world's [[Eastern Orthodoxy by country|second-largest Eastern Orthodox population]], after Russia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/religious-belief-and-national-belonging-in-central-and-eastern-europe/ |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |date=10 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |date=10 November 2017}}</ref> A 2021 survey conducted by the [[Kyiv International Institute of Sociology]] (KIIS) found that 82% of Ukrainians declared themselves to be religious, while 7% were [[atheists]], and a further 11% found it difficult to answer the question.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=1052&page=1 |title=Press releases and reports – Religious self-identification of the population and attitude to the main Churches of Ukraine: June 2021 (kiis.com.ua)}}</ref> The level of religiosity in Ukraine was reported to be the highest in [[Western Ukraine]] (91%), and the lowest in the [[Donbas]] (57%) and [[Eastern Ukraine]] (56%).<ref name="Razumkov2016Page27">{{citation |date=26 May 2016 |url=http://old.razumkov.org.ua/upload/Religiya_200516_A4.compressed.pdf |pages=22, 27 |trans-title=Religion, Church, Society and State: Two Years after Maidan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422181327/http://old.razumkov.org.ua/upload/Religiya_200516_A4.compressed.pdf |place=Kyiv |publisher=[[Razumkov Center]] in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches |language=uk |access-date=7 January 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2017 |script-title=uk:Релігія, Церква, суспільство і держава: два роки після Майдану |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2019, 82% of Ukrainians were Christians; out of which 72.7% declared themselves to be [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], 8.8% [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Ukrainian Greek Catholics]], 2.3% [[Protestantism|Protestants]] and 0.9% [[Latin Church|Latin Church Catholics]]. Other [[Christian]]s comprised 2.3%. [[Judaism]], [[Islam]], and [[Hinduism]] were the religions of 0.2% of the population each. According to the KIIS study, roughly 58.3% of the Ukrainian Orthodox population were members of the [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]], and 25.4% were members of the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://socis.kiev.ua/ua/2019-01/ |title=ПРЕС-РЕЛІЗ ЗА РЕЗУЛЬТАТАМИ СОЦІОЛОГІЧНОГО ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ «УКРАЇНА НАПЕРЕДОДНІ ПРЕЗИДЕНТСЬКИХ ВИБОРІВ 2019» |work=socis.kiev.ua |access-date=22 August 2021 |language=uk}}</ref> [[Protestants in Ukraine|Protestants]] are a growing community in Ukraine, who made up 1.9% of the population in 2016,<ref name="Razumkov2016Page29">{{citation |date=26 May 2016 |url=http://old.razumkov.org.ua/upload/Religiya_200516_A4.compressed.pdf |pages=22, 29 |trans-title=Religion, Church, Society and State: Two Years after Maidan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422181327/http://old.razumkov.org.ua/upload/Religiya_200516_A4.compressed.pdf |place=Kyiv |publisher=[[Razumkov Center]] in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches (sample of 2,018 people) |language=uk |access-date=7 January 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2017 |script-title=uk:Релігія, Церква, суспільство і держава: два роки після Майдану |url-status=dead}}</ref> but rose to 2.2% of the population in 2018.

=== Health ===
{{main|Health in Ukraine}}{{Update section|date=March 2022}}
Ukraine's healthcare system is state subsidised and freely available to all Ukrainian citizens and registered residents. However, it is not compulsory to be treated in a state-run hospital as a number of private medical complexes do exist nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bestofukraine.com/travel-essentials/medical-care.html |title=Medical Care in Ukraine. Health system, hospitals and clinics |publisher=BestOfUkraine.com |date=1 May 2010 |access-date=30 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209112933/http://bestofukraine.com/travel-essentials/medical-care.html |archive-date=9 December 2010}}</ref> The public sector employs most healthcare professionals, with those working for private medical centres typically also retaining their state employment as they are mandated to provide care at public health facilities on a regular basis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Romaniuk |first1=Piotr |last2=Semigina |first2=Tetyana |date=23 November 2018 |title=Ukrainian health care system and its chances for successful transition from Soviet legacies |journal=Global Health |volume=14 |issue=116 |page=116 |doi=10.1186/s12992-018-0439-5 |issn=1744-8603 |pmc=6260664 |pmid=30470237 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Міська дитяча лікарня (Кременчук) - 04.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|The municipal children's hospital in [[Kremenchuk]], [[Poltava Oblast]]]]
All of Ukraine's medical service providers and hospitals are subordinate to the [[Ministry of Healthcare (Ukraine)|Ministry of Healthcare]], which provides oversight and scrutiny of general medical practice as well as being responsible for the day-to-day administration of the healthcare system. Despite this, standards of hygiene and patient-care have fallen.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ukraine |url=http://europe-cities.com/destinations/ukraine/health/ |title=Health in Ukraine. Healthcare system of Ukraine |publisher=Europe-cities.com |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016045731/http://europe-cities.com/destinations/ukraine/health/ |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ukraine faces a number of major public health issues{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} and is considered to be in a demographic crisis because of its high death rate, low birth rate, and high emigration.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://phys.org/news/2023-04-dying-ukrainian-voices-depopulation-crisis.html |title='We are dying out here': Study hears Ukrainian voices on depopulation crisis |work=Phys.org |date=27 April 2023 |access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref> A factor contributing to the high death rate is a high [[mortality rate]] among working-age males from preventable causes such as [[alcohol poisoning]] and smoking.<ref name="worldbank1">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/julaug99/pgs3-4.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720122016/http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/julaug99/pgs3-4.htm |archive-date=20 July 2009 |title=What Went Wrong with Foreign Advice in Ukraine? |access-date=16 January 2008 |website=The World Bank Group}}</ref>

Active reformation of Ukraine's healthcare system was initiated right after the appointment of [[Ulana Suprun]] as a head of the [[Ministry of Healthcare (Ukraine)|Ministry of Healthcare]].<ref name="Rada Reform">{{cite web |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/2195911-ukraine-parliament-greenlights-healthcare-reform.html |title=What do you need to know about the healthcare reform in Ukraine? |date=19 October 2017 |publisher=[[Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|UNIAN]] |access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref> Assisted by deputy Pavlo Kovtoniuk, Suprun first changed the distribution of finances in healthcare.<ref name="Kovtoniuk">{{cite web |url=http://uacrisis.org/55560-medichni-zakladi-moz#prettyPhoto |title=Ministry of Health: Medical institutions will receive guidance on how to convert to enterprises |date=24 April 2017 |publisher=[[Ukraine Crisis Media Center]] |access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref> Funds must follow the patient. General practitioners will provide basic care for patients. The patient will have the right to choose one. Emergency medical service is considered to be fully funded by the state. [[Emergency Medicine Reform in Ukraine since 2016|Emergency Medicine Reform]] is also an important part of the healthcare reform. In addition, patients who suffer from chronic diseases, which cause a high toll of disability and mortality, are provided with free or low-price medicine.<ref name="Drugs">{{cite web |url=http://uacrisis.org/60230-need-know-healthcare-reform-ukraine |title=What do you need to know about the healthcare reform in Ukraine? |date=11 September 2017 |publisher=[[Ukraine Crisis Media Center]] |access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in Ukraine}}
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical
 |image1=Universidad Roja de Kiev.jpg |caption1=The [[Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv|University of Kyiv]] is one of Ukraine's most important educational institutions. |width1=
 |image2=Резиденція митрополитів Буковини і Далмації 5.jpg|caption2=The [[Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans]] by [[Josef Hlávka]], 1882, now [[Chernivtsi University]] |width2=}}
According to the [[Constitution of Ukraine|Ukrainian constitution]], access to free education is granted to all citizens. Complete general secondary education is compulsory in the state schools which constitute the overwhelming majority. Free higher education in state and communal educational establishments is provided on a competitive basis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rada.kiev.ua/const/conengl.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970415063610/http://rada.kiev.ua/const/conengl.htm |archive-date=15 April 1997 |title=Constitution of Ukraine, Chapter 2, Article 53. Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 28 June 1996}}</ref>

Because of the Soviet Union's emphasis on total access of education for all citizens, which continues today, the [[literacy rate]] is an estimated 99.4%.<ref name=cia/> Since 2005, an eleven-year school programme has been replaced with a twelve-year one: primary education takes four years to complete (starting at age six), middle education (secondary) takes five years to complete; upper secondary then takes three years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.education.gov.ua/pls/edu/docs/common/secondaryeduc_eng.html |title=General secondary education |access-date=23 December 2007 |publisher=Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016104343/http://education.gov.ua/pls/edu/docs/common/secondaryeduc_eng.html |archive-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Students in the 12th grade take Government tests, which are also referred to as school-leaving exams. These tests are later used for university admissions.

Among the oldest is also the [[Lviv University]], founded in 1661. More higher education institutions were set up in the 19th century, beginning with universities in [[Kharkiv University|Kharkiv]] (1805), [[Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv|Kyiv]] (1834), [[Odesa University|Odesa]] (1865) and [[Chernivtsi University|Chernivtsi]] (1875) and a number of professional higher education institutions, e.g.: [[Nizhyn Pedagogical University|Nizhyn Historical and Philological Institute]] (originally established as the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in 1805), a Veterinary Institute (1873) and a [[Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute|Technological Institute]] (1885) in [[Kharkiv]], a [[Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute|Polytechnic Institute]] in Kyiv (1898) and a Higher Mining School (1899) in [[Dnipro|Katerynoslav]]. Rapid growth followed in the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet]] period. By 1988 the number of higher education institutions increased to 146 with over 850,000 students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001465/146552e.pdf |title=Higher education in Ukraine; Monographs on higher education; 2006 |access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

The Ukrainian higher education system comprises higher educational establishments, [[scientific]] and [[methodological]] facilities under national, [[municipal government|municipal]] and self-governing bodies in charge of education.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.education.gov.ua/pls/edu/docs/common/higher_educ_eng.html |title=System of Higher Education of Ukraine |access-date=23 December 2007 |publisher=Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217073746/http://www.education.gov.ua/pls/edu/docs/common/higher_educ_eng.html |archive-date=17 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The organisation of higher education in Ukraine is built up in accordance with the structure of education of the world's higher [[developed countries]], as is defined by [[UNESCO]] and the UN.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.education.gov.ua/pls/edu/docs/common/education_eng.html |title=System of the Education of Ukraine |access-date=23 December 2007 |publisher=Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212111804/http://www.education.gov.ua/pls/edu/docs/common/education_eng.html |archive-date=12 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ukraine produces the fourth largest number of [[Tertiary education|post-secondary graduates]] in Europe, while being ranked seventh in population.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.export.gov/apex/article2?id=Ukraine-Education |title=export.gov |website=export.gov |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306140326/https://www.export.gov/apex/article2?id=Ukraine-Education |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Higher education in Ukraine|Higher education]] is either state funded or private. Most universities provide subsidised housing for out-of-city students. It is common for libraries to supply required books for all registered students. Ukrainian universities confer two degrees: the bachelor's degree (4&nbsp;years) and the master's degree (5–6th&nbsp;year), in accordance with the [[Bologna process]]. Historically, [[Specialist degree]] (usually 5 years) is still also granted; it was the only degree awarded by universities in Soviet times.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 July 2016 |title=Міносвіти скасує "спеціалістів" і "кандидатів наук" |url=http://life.pravda.com.ua/society/2016/07/11/215073/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229115208/http://life.pravda.com.ua/society/2016/07/11/215073/ |archive-date=29 December 2016 |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=life.pravda.com.ua}}</ref> Ukraine was ranked 60th in 2024 in the [[Global Innovation Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=wipo.int |language=en}}</ref>

=== Regional differences ===
{{See also|Demographics of Ukraine#Regional differences|Central Ukraine|Eastern Ukraine|Southern Ukraine|Western Ukraine}}
[[File:Ukr elections 2014 multimandate okruhs.png|upright=1.3|thumb|The results of the [[2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election|2014 parliamentary election]] with [[People's Front (Ukraine)|People's Front]] in yellow, [[Opposition Bloc]] in blue and [[Petro Poroshenko Bloc]] in red]]
[[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] is the dominant language in [[Western Ukraine]] and in [[Central Ukraine]], while [[Russian language|Russian]] is the dominant language in the cities of [[Eastern Ukraine]] and [[Southern Ukraine]]. In the [[Ukrainian SSR]] schools, learning [[Russian language|Russian]] was mandatory; in modern Ukraine, schools with Ukrainian as the language of instruction offer classes in Russian and in the other minority languages.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/><ref>{{Citation |url=http://norric.org/files/education-systems/Ukraine2009 |title=The Educational System of Ukraine |publisher=[[National Academic Recognition Information Centre]] |date=April 2009 |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-date=12 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712194304/https://norric.org/files/education-systems/Ukraine2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="RatingJuly12"/><ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ukrnews/1243560-poll_ukrainian_language_prevails_at_home_229692.html |title=Poll: Ukrainian language prevails at home |newspaper=[[Ukrinform]] |place=UA |date=7 September 2011 |access-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709143952/https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ukrnews/1243560-poll_ukrainian_language_prevails_at_home_229692.html |archive-date=9 July 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On the [[Russian language in Ukraine|Russian language]], on [[Soviet Union]] and [[Ukrainian nationalism]], opinion in Eastern Ukraine and Southern Ukraine tends to be the exact opposite of those in Western Ukraine; while opinions in Central Ukraine on these topics tend be less extreme.<ref name=RatingJuly12>{{cite web |url=http://ratinggroup.ua/en/research/ukraine/yazykovoy_vopros_rezultaty_poslednih_issledovaniy_2012.html |title=The language question, the results of recent research in 2012 |publisher=[[Sociological group "RATING"|Rating]] |date=25 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/sep/21/whos-afraid-ukrainian-history/ |title=Who's Afraid of Ukrainian History? |author=Timothy Snyder |author-link=Timothy D. Snyder |magazine=[[The New York Review of Books]] |date=21 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/poll-over-half-of-ukrainians-against-granting-official-status-to-russian-language-318212.html |title=Poll: Over half of Ukrainians against granting official status to Russian language |work=Kyiv Post |date=27 December 2012 |access-date=8 January 2014}}</ref><ref name=KIISS1313>{{cite web |url=http://kiis.com.ua/?lang=eng&cat=reports&id=140&page=1 |script-title=uk:Ставлення населення України до постаті Йосипа Сталіна |trans-title=Attitude of the Ukrainian population to the figure of Joseph Stalin |publisher=[[Kyiv International Institute of Sociology]] |date=1 March 2013 |language=uk}}</ref>

Similar historical divisions also remain evident at the level of individual social identification. Attitudes toward the most important political issue, relations with Russia, differed strongly between [[Lviv]], identifying more with [[Ukrainian nationalism]] and the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]], and [[Donetsk]], predominantly Russian orientated and favourable to the [[Soviet era]], while in central and southern Ukraine, as well as [[Kyiv]], such divisions were less important and there was less antipathy toward people from other regions.<ref name=antipathy>{{cite web |title=Ukraine. West-East: Unity in Diversity |url=http://rb.com.ua/eng/projects/omnibus/6575/ |publisher=[[Research & Branding Group]] |access-date=8 January 2014 |date=March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108233804/http://rb.com.ua/eng/projects/omnibus/6575/ |archive-date=8 January 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

However, all were united by an overarching Ukrainian identity based on shared economic difficulties, showing that other attitudes are determined more by culture and politics than by demographic differences.<ref name=antipathy/><ref>{{Citation |first=Oksana |last=Malanchuk |title=Social Identification Versus Regionalism in Contemporary Ukraine |journal=Nationalities Papers |year=2005 |volume=33 |number=3 |pages=345–68 |issn=0090-5992 |doi=10.1080/00905990500193204 |s2cid=154250784}}</ref> Surveys of regional identities in Ukraine have shown that the feeling of belonging to a "Soviet identity" is strongest in the [[Donbas]] (about 40%) and the Crimea (about 30%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taraskuzio.net/Comparative%20Politics_files/SovietCulture_Conspiracy_Yanukovych.pdf |title=Soviet conspiracy theories and political culture in Ukraine: Understanding Viktor Yanukovych and the Party of Region |website=taraskuzio.net |author=Taras Kuzio |author-link=Taras Kuzio |date=23 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516205435/http://www.taraskuzio.net/Comparative%20Politics_files/SovietCulture_Conspiracy_Yanukovych.pdf |archive-date=16 May 2014}}</ref>

During [[Elections in Ukraine|elections]] voters of Western and Central Ukrainian [[Oblasts of Ukraine|oblasts]] (provinces) vote mostly for parties ([[Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc|Our Ukraine]], [[All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"|Batkivshchyna]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cvk.gov.ua/pls/vnd2012/WP406?PT001F01=900&pf7171=52 |publisher=Central Election Commission of Ukraine |script-title=uk:Вибори народних депутатів України 2012 |trans-title=The Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine 2012 |language=uk |date=28 November 2012 |access-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016140034/http://www.cvk.gov.ua/pls/vnd2012/WP406?PT001F01=900&pf7171=52 |archive-date=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=30 August 2012 |title=CEC substitutes Tymoshenko, Lutsenko in voting papers |url=http://en.for-ua.com/news/2012/08/30/111349.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813233711/http://en.for-ua.com/news/2012/08/30/111349.html |archive-date=13 August 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 November 2015}}</ref> and presidential candidates ([[Viktor Yuschenko]], [[Yulia Tymoshenko]]) with a [[pro-Western]] and state reform [[Political platform|platform]], while voters in Southern and Eastern oblasts vote for parties ([[Communist Party of Ukraine|CPU]], [[Party of Regions]]) and presidential candidates ([[Viktor Yanukovych]]) with a [[pro-Russian]] and [[status quo]] platform.<ref name= EWparties>{{Citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H23Pv4Ik3vMC&pg=PA396 |title=Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe |first1=Uwe |last1=Backes |author1-link=Uwe Backes |first2=Patrick |last2=Moreau |publisher=[[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-3-525-36912-8 |page=396}}</ref><ref name=Umland>{{Citation |url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/andreas-umland/ukraine-right-wing-politics-is-genie-out-of-bottle |title=Ukraine right-wing politics: is the genie out of the bottle? |publisher=[[openDemocracy.net]] |date=3 January 2011 |access-date=8 March 2013 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014083516/http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/andreas-umland/ukraine-right-wing-politics-is-genie-out-of-bottle |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=39981 |title=Eight Reasons Why Ukraine's Party of Regions Will Win the 2012 Elections |first=Taras |last=Kuzio |newspaper=Jamestown |author-link=Taras Kuzio |publisher=[[The Jamestown Foundation]] |date=17 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.taraskuzio.net/media20_files/8.pdf |title=UKRAINE: Yushchenko needs Tymoshenko as ally again |first=Taras |last=Kuzio |author-link=Taras Kuzio |publisher=[[Oxford Analytica]] |date=5 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515074305/http://www.taraskuzio.net/media20_files/8.pdf |archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref> However, this geographical division is decreasing.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sonia |first=Koshkina |date=15 November 2012 |title=Ukraine's Party of Regions: A pyrrhic victory |url=http://www.euractiv.com/specialreport-eu-ukraine-relatio/ukraines-party-regions-pyrrhic-v-analysis-516103 |website=EurActiv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rachkevych |first=Mark |date=11 February 2010 |title=Election winner lacks strong voter mandate |work=[[Kyiv Post]] |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/59340/ |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217083456/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/59340/ |archive-date=17 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ostaptschuk |first=Markian |date=30 October 2012 |title=Shake-up in Ukraine |work=[[Deutsche Welle|DW]] |url=https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-vote-ushers-in-new-constellation-of-power/a-16341696 |access-date=13 December 2023}}</ref>