Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast, also referred to as Rivnenshchyna, is an oblast in northwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of the region is. Its population is:
Before its annexation by the Soviet Union during World War II, the region was part of the Second Polish Republic's Wołyń Voivodeship following the Polish–Soviet War. Previously it was part of the Volhynian Governorate.
The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant is located in the oblast, near the city of Varash.
Geography
The region is located almost in the middle of the historical region of Volhynia which is indicated on its coat of arms with a white cross on a red background. Volhynia was completely partitioned after the Soviet occupation of Poland in September 1939 and divided between three oblasts, Volyn, Rivne, and Ternopil, with some additional eastern portions in Zhytomyr Oblast.The relief of the region varies, its northern portion lies in the Polesian Lowland, while its southern is located within Volhynian Upland. The highest hills known as Povcha Upland reach over 350 meters. The main water artery of the region is river Horyn, while northwestern area also reaches Prypiat. Big portions of the oblast covered in woodlands. It also has a great deal of such excavated minerals like amber and basalt. In recent years there were reports of illegal extraction of so called Rovno amber in the area.
Administrative divisions
On 19 July 2020, the number of raions was reduced to four. These are:- Dubno Raion, the center is in the city of Dubno;
- Rivne Raion, the center is in the city of Rivne;
- Sarny Raion, the center is in the city of Sarny;
- Varash Raion, the center is in the city of Varash.
Demographics
According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, ethnic Ukrainians accounted for 95.9% of the population of Rivne Oblast, ethnic Russians for 2.6%, and ethnic Belarusians for 1.0%.Rivne is one of the regions with the highest birth rate in all of Ukraine. However the birth rate is not uniform across Rivne, with raions like Ostroh having extremely low birth rates and other raions like Rokytne Raion having extremely high birth rates.
Vital statistics by raion (2008)
According to statistics the population of Rivne Oblast Central Office at 1 January 2013 is 1,156,900 people.In 2012, it increased by 2612 people. This was due to natural increase 4014 people at the same time reduce the migration of the population -1,402 people.
Compared to 2011, the volume of natural growth increased by 485 people. Natural movement of the population in 2012 was characterized by an increase in fertility and mortality, compared to 2011. In 2012, the number of births in the region was 619 more than in 2011.
Fertility in rural areas is higher than in urban areas. The total fertility rate for 2012 was 15.9.
Compared to 2011, the mortality rate in 2012 rose from 12.3 to 12.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The mortality rate in rural areas is 1.6 pa za higher than in urban areas.
Language
The Russification of Ukraine carried out during the Soviet era had little to no effect on the Rivne Oblast: the share of Ukrainian-speakers in the region in 1959—1989 fluctuated around 92—95%. Native language of the population of Rivne Oblast according to the results of population censuses:| 1959 | 1970 | 1989 | 2001 | |
| Ukrainian | 92.6% | 94.3% | 94.0% | 97.0% |
| Russian | 5.2% | 5.1% | 5.6% | 2.7% |
| Other | 2.2% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
Native language of the population of the raions and cities of Rivne Oblast according to the 2001 Ukrainian census:
| Ukrainian | Russian | |
| Rivne Oblast | 97.0% | 2.7% |
| City of Rivne | 92.1% | 7.5% |
| City of Dubno | 96.2% | 3.3% |
| City of Varash | 90.4% | 9.3% |
| City of Ostroh | 97.3% | 2.4% |
| Berezne Raion | 99.5% | 0.4% |
| Volodymyrets Raion | 99.3% | 0.6% |
| Hoshcha Raion | 99.1% | 0.8% |
| Demydivka Raion | 99.2% | 0.6% |
| Dubno Raion | 99.2% | 0.6% |
| Dubrovytsia Raion | 98.9% | 0.7% |
| Zarichne Raion | 99.4% | 0.4% |
| Zdolbuniv Raion | 97.3% | 2.4% |
| Korets Raion | 99.2% | 0.7% |
| Kostopil Raion | 98.5% | 1.4% |
| Mlyniv Raion | 99.2% | 0.7% |
| Ostroh Raion | 99.3% | 0.6% |
| Rivne Raion | 98.3% | 1.5% |
| Rokytne Raion | 99.3% | 0.4% |
| Sarny Raion | 98.2% | 1.6% |
| Radyvyliv Raion | 99.1% | 0.7% |
Ukrainian is the only official language on the whole territory of Rivne Oblast.
According to a poll conducted by Rating from 16 November to 10 December 2018 as part of the project «Portraits of Regions», 87% of the residents of Rivne Oblast believed that the Ukrainian language should be the only state language on the entire territory of Ukraine. 8% believed that Ukrainian should be the only state language, while Russian should be the second official language in some regions of the country. 3% believed that Russian should become the second state language of the country. 2% found it difficult to answer.
On 2 May 2024, Rivne Oblast Council approved the «Oblast Targeted Programme to Ensure Comprehensive Development and Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language in All Spheres of Public Life in Rivne Oblast for 2024—2026», the main objectives of which are to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian language in various spheres of public life in the oblast and to Ukrainianize the refugees from other regions of Ukraine.
According to the research of the Content Analysis Centre, conducted from 15 August to 15 September 2024, the topic of which was the ratio of Ukrainian and Russian languages in the Ukrainian segment of social media, 93.0% of posts from Rivne Oblast were written in Ukrainian, while 7.0% were written in Russian.
After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, Rivne Oblast, as well as Ukraine as a whole, experienced a gradual Ukrainization of the education system, which had been Russified during the Soviet era. Dynamics of the ratio of the languages of instruction in general secondary education institutions in Rivne Oblast:
| Language of instruction, % of pupils | 1991— 1992 | 1992— 1993 | 1993— 1994 | 1994— 1995 | 1995— 1996 | 2000— 2001 | 2005— 2006 | 2007— 2008 | 2010— 2011 | 2012— 2013 | 2015— 2016 | 2018— 2019 | 2021— 2022 | 2022— 2023 |
| Ukrainian | 93.6% | 96.6% | 97.8% | 98.4% | 99.0% | 99.7% | 99.9% | 99.96% | 99.97% | 99.99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Russian | 6.4% | 3.4% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.01% | — | — | — | — |
According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in the 2023—2024 school year, all 164,344 pupils in general secondary education institutions in Rivne Oblast were studying in classes where Ukrainian was the language of instruction.
Age structure
Median age
Points of interest
The some listed historic-cultural sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.- Ostroh Castle
- Trinity Monastery
- Dubno Castle
- Spring of St. Anna
- Tarakaniv Fort
- Novomalyna Castle
- Rivne Nuclear Power Plant
- Battle of Berestechko Field
- Narrow-gauge railway
Nomenclature
Before 1992, under the policy of Russification, the region was officially known under its Russian name of Rovno Oblast.