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. The Ukrainian diaspora is found throughout numerous regions worldwide including other post-Soviet states as well as in Canada and other countries such as Poland, the United States, the UK and Brazil.

Distribution

The Ukrainian diaspora is found throughout numerous countries worldwide. It is particularly concentrated in other post-Soviet states, Central Europe, North America, and South America.

History

1608 to 1880

After the loss suffered by the Cossack-Swedish Alliance under Ivan Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, some political emigrants, primarily Cossacks, settled in Turkey and in Western Europe.
In 1775, after the fall of the Zaporozhian Sich to the Russian Empire, some more Cossacks emigrated to Dobruja in the Ottoman Empire, while others settled in Volga and Ural regions of the Russian Empire.
In the second half of the 18th century, Ukrainians from the Transcarpathian Region formed agricultural settlements in the Kingdom of Hungary, primarily in the Bačka and Syrmia regions. Both are now located in the Vojvodina Region of the Republic of Serbia.
In time, Ukrainian settlements emerged in the major European capitals, including Vienna, Budapest, Rome and Warsaw.

1880–1920

[image:1897 Укр повіти.png|thumb|338x338px|Share of Ukrainians by poviats of the Russian Empire, districts and counties of Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century]
In 1880, the Ukrainian diaspora consisted of approximately 1.2 million people, which represented approximately 4.6% of all Ukrainians, and was distributed as follows:
  • 0.7 million in the European part of the Russian Empire
  • 0.2 million in Austro-Hungary
  • 0.1 million in the Asian part of the Russian Empire
  • 0.1 million in the United States
In the last quarter of the 19th century due to the agrarian resettlement, a massive emigration of Ukrainians from Austro-Hungary to the Americas and from the Russian Empire to the Urals and Asia occurred.
A secondary movement was the emigration under the auspices of the Austro-Hungarian government of 10,000 Ukrainians from Galicia to Bosnia.
Furthermore, due to Russian agitation, 15,000 Ukrainians left Galicia and Bukovina and settled in Russia. Most of these settlers later returned.
Finally in the Russian Empire, some Ukrainians from the Chełm and Podlaskie regions, as well as most of the Jews, emigrated to the Americas.
Some of those who left their homeland returned. For example, from the 393,000 Ukrainians who emigrated to the United States, 70,000 returned.
Most of the emigrants to the US worked in the construction and mining industries. Many worked in the US on a temporary basis to earn remittances.
In the 1890s, Ukrainian agricultural settlers emigrated first to Brazil and Argentina. However, the writings of Galician professor and nationalist Dr Joseph Oleskiw were influential in redirecting that flow to Canada. He visited an already-established Ukrainian block settlement, which had been founded by Iwan Pylypiw, and met with Canadian immigration officials. His two pamphlets on the subject praised the United States as a place for wage labour, but stated that Canada was the best place for agricultural settlers to obtain free land. By contrast he was fiercely critical of the treatment Ukrainian settlers had received in South America. After his writings, the slow trickle of Ukrainians to Canada greatly increased.
Before the start of the First World War, almost 500,000 Ukrainians emigrated to the Americas. This can be broken down by country as follows:
  • to the United States: almost 350,000
  • to Canada: almost 100,000
  • to Brazil and Argentina: almost 50,000
In 1914, the Ukrainian diaspora in the Americas numbered about 700,000-750,000 people:
  • 500,000-550,000 in the US
  • almost 100,000 in Canada
  • approximately 50,000 in Brazil
  • 50,000 in Argentina
Most of the emigrants to the Americas belonged to the Greek Catholic Church. This led to the creation of Greek Catholic bishops in Canada and the US. The need for solidarity led to the creation of Ukrainian religious, political, and social organisations. These new Ukrainian organisations maintained links with the homeland, from which books, media, priests, cultural figures, and new ideas arrived. Furthermore, local influence, as well as influence from their homeland, led to the process of a national re-awakening. At times, the diaspora was ahead of their time in this re-awakening.
Emigrants from the Transcarpathian and Lemko regions created their own organisations and had their own separate Greek Catholic church hierarchy. These emigrants are often considered to be Rusyns or Ruthenians and are considered by some to be distinct from other Ukrainians. However, in Argentina and Brazil, immigrants from Transcarpathia and the Lemko Region did identify themselves as Ukrainians.
The majority of the Ukrainian diaspora in the Americas focused on obtaining independence and convincing outside powers to join its war against the Soviets. The two nationalist governments which existed simultaneously; The Ukrainian People’s Republic, and The West Ukrainian People’s Republic both sent delegates to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. An interesting note is the role the Ruthenians played to convince the American government about the inclusion of the Transcarpathian region into the Czechoslovak Republic in 1919.
In contrast, the Ukrainian diaspora in the Russian Empire, and especially in Asia, was primarily agrarian. After 1860, the diaspora was primarily located in the Volga and Ural Regions, while in the last quarter of that century, due to a lack of space for settlement, the diaspora expanded into Western Siberia, Turkestan, the Far East, and even into the Zeleny Klyn. In the 1897 census there were 1,560,000 Ukrainians divided as follows:
  • In the European part of the empire: 1,232,000
  • *In the Volga and Urals: 393,000
  • *In the non-Ukrainian parts of Kursk and Voronezh Regions: 232,000
  • *Almost 150,000 in Bessarabia.
  • In the Asian part of the empire: 311,000
  • *In the Caucasus region: 117,000
In the next few decades, Ukrainian emigration to Asia increased, leading to almost 2 million Ukrainians in the Asian part of the Russian Empire by 1914. Consequently, the Russian Empire had approximately 3.4 million Ukrainians. Most of this population was assimilated due to a lack of national awareness and closeness with the local Russian population, especially in religion.
Unlike the emigrants from Austro-Hungary, the Ukrainian emigrants in the Russian Empire did not create their own organisations nor were there many interactions with their homeland. The revolution of 1917 allowed the creation of Ukrainian organisations, which were linked with the national and political rebirth in Ukraine.

1920–1945

First major political emigration

The First World War and the Russian Civil War led to the first massive political emigration, which strengthened the existing Ukrainian communities by infusing them with members from various political, scientific, and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, some of these new emigrants formed Ukrainian communities in Western and Central Europe. Thus, new communities were created in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, France, Belgium, Austria, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The largest was in Prague, which was considered one of the centres of Ukrainian culture and political life.
This group of emigrants created many different organisations and movements associated with corresponding groups in the battle for independence. A few Ukrainian universities were founded. Furthermore, many of these organisations were associated with the exiled Ukrainian government, the Ukrainian People's Republic.
During the 1920s, the new diaspora maintained links with now-Soviet Ukraine. A Sovietophile movement appeared, whereby former opponents of the Bolsheviks began to argue that Ukrainians should support Soviet Ukraine. Some argued that they should do so because the Soviet republics were the leaders of international revolution, while others claimed that the Bolsheviks' social and national policies benefited Ukraine. This movement included Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Volodymyr Vynnychenko and Yevhen Petrushevych. Many émigrés, including Hrushevskyi, returned and helped the Bolsheviks implement their policy of Ukrainianisation. However, the abandonment of Ukrainianisation, the return to collectivisation, and the man-made famine of 1932–33 ended Ukrainianisation. Most of the links were broken, with the exception of some Sovietophile organisations in Canada and the United States.
On the other hand, the Canadian and American diaspora maintained links with the Ukrainian community in Galicia and the Transcarpathian Region.
The political emigration decreased in the mid-1920s due to a return to Soviet Ukraine and a decline in students studying at the Ukrainian universities established outside of Ukraine.

Economic emigration

In 1920 and 1921, many Ukrainians left Western Ukraine to settle in the Americas and Western Europe. Most of the emigrates settled in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, France, the UK and Belgium. The economic crisis of the early 1930s stopped most of this emigration. The emigration picked up again later in the decade. The number of emigrants can be approximated as:
  • to Canada: almost 70,000 Ukrainians;
  • to Argentina: 50,000 Ukrainians;
  • to France: 35,000 Ukrainians;
  • to the United States: 15,000 Ukrainians;
  • to Brazil: 10,000 Ukrainians;
  • to Paraguay and Uruguay: a couple of thousand Ukrainians.
Furthermore, many Ukrainians left the Ukrainian SSR and settled in Asia due to political and economic factors, primarily collectivisation and the famine of the 1930s.

Size

The Ukrainian diaspora, outside of the Soviet Union, was 1.7-1.8 million people:
  • In the Americas:
  • * In the United States: 700–800,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Canada: 250,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Argentina: 220,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Brazil: 80,000 Ukrainians
  • In Western and Central Europe:
  • * In Moldova: approximately 360,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Poland: 100,000 Ukrainians
  • * In France: 40,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Yugoslavia: 40,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Czechoslovakia: 35,000 Ukrainians
  • * In other countries: 15–20,000 Ukrainians
According to the Soviet census of 1926, there were 3,450,000 Ukrainians living outside of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, divided as follows:
  • In the European part of the Soviet Union: 1,310,000 Ukrainians
  • * 242,000 Ukrainians living on land neighbouring the Ukrainian ethnic territory
  • * 771,000 Ukrainians in the Volga and Ural regions
  • In the Asian part of the Soviet Union: 2,138,000 Ukrainians
  • * 861,000 Ukrainians in Kazakhstan
  • * 830,000 Ukrainians in Siberia
  • * 315,000 Ukrainians in the Far East
  • * 64,000 Ukrainians in Kyrgyzstan
  • * 33,000 Ukrainians in the Central Asian Republic
  • * 35,000 Ukrainians in the Caucasus Region.
In Siberia, the vast majority of the Ukrainians lived in the Central Asian region and the Zeleny Klyn. On 1 January 1933, there were about 4.5 million Ukrainians in the Soviet Union outside of the Ukrainian SSR, while in America there were 1.1-1.2 million Ukrainians.
In 1931, the Ukrainian diaspora can be counted as follows:
In the Ukrainian SSR, there were 25,300,278 Ukrainians.

1945–1991

Outside the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

After the Second World War, the Ukrainian diaspora increased due to a second wave of displaced persons. The 250,000 Ukrainians at first settled in Germany and Austria. In the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s, these Ukrainians were resettled in many different countries creating new Ukrainian settlements in Australia, Venezuela, and for a time in Tunisia, as well as re-enforcing previous settlements in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. In Europe, there remained between 50,000 and 100,000 Ukrainians that settled in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
This second wave of emigrants re-invigorated Ukrainian organisations in the Americas and Western Europe. In 1967, in New York City, the World Congress of Free Ukrainians was created. Scientific organisations were created. An Institute of Ukrainian Studies at Harvard University was also created.
An attempt was made to unite the various religious organisations. However, this did not succeed. In the early 1970s, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Europe, South America, and Australia managed to unite. Most of the other Orthodox churches maintained some religious links. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church had to wait until 1980 until its synod was recognised by the Vatican. The Ukrainian Evangelical and Baptist churches also created an All-Ukrainian Evangelical-Baptist Union.

Within the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

Post-Second World War, there was a strong net migration in the USSR. Most of the Ukrainian contingent that was leaving the Ukrainian SSR for other areas of the Union settled in places with other migrants. The cultural separation from Ukraine proper meant that many were to form the so-called "multicultural soviet nation". In Siberia, 82% of Ukrainian entered mixed marriages, primarily with Russians. This meant that outside the parent national republic and large cities in the Union there was little or no provisions for continuing a diaspora function. Thus Ukrainian literature and television could be found only in larger cities like Moscow. At the same time other signs of Ukrainian cultural heritage such as clothing and food were preserved. According to a Soviet sociologist, 27% of the Ukrainians in Siberia read Ukrainian printed material and 38% used the Ukrainian language. From time to time, Ukrainian groups would visit Siberia. Nonetheless, most of the Ukrainians did assimilate.
In Eastern Europe, the Ukrainian diaspora can be divided as follows:
  • In Poland: 200–300,000 Ukrainians
  • In Czechoslovakia: 120–150,000 Ukrainians
  • In Romania: 100–150,000 Ukrainians
  • In Yugoslavia: 45–50,000 Ukrainians.
In all these countries, Ukrainians had the status of a minority nation with their own socio-cultural organisations, schools, and press. The degree of these rights varied within the region. Yugoslavia granted Ukrainians the most rights.
The largest Ukrainian diaspora was in Poland. It consisted of those Ukrainians, which were left in the western parts of Galicia that after the Second World War remained in Poland and had not emigrated to the Ukrainian SSR or resettled, and those who were resettled to the western and northern parts of Poland, which before the Second World War had been part of Germany.
Ukrainians in Czechoslovakia lived in the Prešov Region, which can be considered Ukrainian ethnographic territory, and had substantial rights. The Ukrainians in the Prešov Region had their own church organisation.
Ukrainians in Romania lived in the Romanian parts of Bukovina and the Maramureş Region, as well as in scattered settlements throughout Romania.
Ukrainians in Yugoslavia lived primarily in Bačka and Srem regions of Vojvodina and Bosnia. These Ukrainians had their own church organisation as the Eparchy of Križevci.

Size

Of the countries where the Ukrainian diaspora had settled, only in Canada and the Soviet Union was information about ethnic background collected. However, the data from the Soviet Union is suspect and underestimates the number of Ukrainians. In 1970, the Ukrainian diaspora can be given as follows:
  • In the Soviet Union: officially 5.1 million Ukrainians
  • * In the European part: 2.8 million Ukrainians
  • * In the Asian part: 2.3 million Ukrainians
  • In Eastern Europe : 465–650,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Czechoslovakia: 120–150,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Poland: 200–300,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Romania: 100–150,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Yugoslavia: 45–50,000 Ukrainians
  • In Central and Western Europe: 88–107,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Austria: 4–5,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Germany: 20–25,000 Ukrainians
  • * In France: 30–35,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Belgium: 3–5,000 Ukrainians
  • * In the United Kingdom: 50–100,000 Ukrainians
  • In the Americas and Australia: 2.2-2.5 million Ukrainians:
  • * In the US: 1.25-1.5 million Ukrainians
  • * In Canada: 581,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Brazil: 120,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Argentina: 180–200,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Paraguay: 10,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Uruguay: 8,000 Ukrainians
  • * In other American countries: 2,000 Ukrainians
  • * In Australia and New Zealand: 30,000 Ukrainians.
For the Soviet Union, it can be assumed that about 10-12 million people of Ukrainian heritage lived outside the Ukrainian SSR.

Post 1991

After the independence of Ukraine in 1991, many Ukrainians emigrated to Western countries because of an economic depression in the 1990s.
Many Ukrainians live in Russia either along the Ukrainian border or in Siberia. In the 1990s, the number of Ukrainians living in Russia was calculated to be around 5 million. These regions, where Ukrainians live, can be subdivided into the following categories:
  • The northern part of Sloboda Ukraine where Ukrainians have been living for centuries
  • Siberian Ukrainians
  • The rest of Russia, formed from systematic migration since the start of the 19th century.
Ukrainians can also be found in parts of Romania and Slovakia that border Ukraine.
The size of the Ukrainian diaspora has changed over time due to the following factors:
  • Growth Factors
  • #New emigration from Ukraine
  • #Natural Growth
  • Decrease Factors
  • #Returning of emigrants to Ukraine
  • #Assimilation

21st century

As of 2020, the European Union was host of over half a million Ukrainian citizens, according to official records of residents collected by Eurostat. About half of the Ukrainian citizens in the EU were located in Italy.
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has led to millions of Ukrainian civilians moving 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. Amid the mobilization restrictions the number of illegal border crossess also grows every year, e.g. Romanian Head of the Territorial Inspectorate of the Border Police reported over 13,000 illegal immigrations happening in 2024.
Influence of the Ukrainian Diaspora on Global Politics
The Ukrainian diaspora has played a significant role in advocating for Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, particularly in North America and Europe. Ukrainian communities in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom have actively supported political movements, such as the recognition of the Holodomor as genocide and aid to Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia.
Cultural Preservation and Revival
Ukrainian diaspora communities have maintained their cultural identity through dedicated efforts in language preservation, religious institutions, and cultural organizations. Ukrainian language schools, churches, and festivals, such as the Toronto Ukrainian Festival and the Ukrainian Village in Canada, continue to strengthen ties to Ukrainian heritage and educate future generations about their ancestry.

Extended statistics

2004 figures

In 2004, the Ukrainian diaspora was distributed as follows:
CountryNumber Main Areas of Settlement
Russia1,928 – 4,379In the regions of Kursk, Voronezh, Saratov, Samara, Astrakhan, Vladivostok and the Don River. From Orenburg to the Pacific Ocean, in the Primorsky Krai along the Ussuri River, and in the Amur Oblast Norilsk, Magadan, Yakutia and Vorkuta
Kazakhstan896.2-2,400In the north and urban areas
Canada1,209Provinces: Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and British Columbia
Brazil1,000States: Paraná, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul
United States900States: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Florida, California, Texas, and Wisconsin
Poland360-500 Regions: Western and northern parts of Poland
Greece350–360Regions: Northern Greece, Thessaloniki, Athens
Italy320–350Regions: North Italy, Naples, Sicily
Belarus291–500Brest Oblast
Moldova275Transnistria, Chişinău
Argentina100–250Provinces: Buenos Aires, Misiones, Chaco, Mendoza, Formosa, Córdoba, and Río Negro
Uzbekistan153.2Urban Centres
Kyrgyzstan108Urban Centres
Paraguay102Regions: in the area of Colonia Fram, Sandov, Nuevo Volyn, Bohdanivky, and Tarasivky
Slovakia40–100Regions: Eastern Slovakia, Prešov
Latvia46Urban Centres
Romania61-90Regions: Southern Bukovina, Maramureş region, Banat, and Northern Dobruja
former Yugoslavia60Regions: Vojvodina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia
Portugal40–150Lisbon and surroundings, interior of the country
Georgia52.4Urban Centres
Czech Republic50Sudetenland
Estonia48Urban Centres
Lithuania44Urban Centres
Turkmenistan35.6Urban Centres
France35Regions: Central, Eastern, Southwestern, and Northwestern France
United Kingdom35Counties: Greater London, Lancashire, Yorkshire, as well as Central and Northern England and Scotland
Australia35States/territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and ACT
Azerbaijan32.3Urban Centres
Germany22States: Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Lower Saxony
Turkey20Cities: Istanbul, Antalya, Ankara, İzmir, Bodrum and Mersin
Uruguay10Regions: Montevideo, San José, and Paysandú
Armenia8.3Urban Centres
Austria9–10Region: Vienna and surroundings
Belgium5Region: Central and Eastern Belgium
Finland3–4Region: Turku, Seinäjoki, Tampere, Helsinki and other big cities in Finland
Hungary3Region: The Tisza River Basin
Venezuela3Region: Caracas, Valencia, Maracay
New Zealand2Regions: Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington
Bulgaria1.8Region: Sofia, Plovdiv, Dobrich and other big cities in Bulgaria
Chile1.0-1.5? Region: Santiago, Chile
Netherlands0.6Region: on the border with Germany

Ukrainian diaspora distribution around the world

Continent/Country/RegionYearNumbersNotes-
EUROPE-
Andorra2016100-
Austria202480,665 12,000; 8,232; 7,038; 6,367; 5,696; 5,115; 4,534; 29,000; 100,000; 50,000-
Belarus2015225,734 227,722-159,000; 230,971; 234,219-237,000; 248,032; 261,845-291,008; 230,985; 190,839; 133,061; 104,247; 34,681-
Belgium20173,397 4,981; 2,999; 1,848; 2,202; 2,283; 2,298; 5,000; 10,000; 2,000; 1,000-
Bosnia and Herzegovina20132,331 3,929; 7,455 7,883; 10,000-
Bulgaria20161,780 6,400; 5,631; 4,526; 3,230; 2,451; 1,671-
Croatia20111,878 1,977; 2,494; 2,515; 2,793; 6,397-
Czech Republic2016110,245 97,474; 102,127; 53,253-125,343; 73,905; 22,112; 16,397; 12,298; 8,220; 10,271; 9,794-
Denmark201911,148 12,144; 8,000; 6,870; 6,508; 3,602; 695; 650; 605; 1,500-
Estonia201923,665 23,310; 23,183; 23,256; 22,562; 22,972; 22,573; 24,004; 29,012; 33,755; 48,271; 36,044; 28,086; 15,769; 92; 230-
Finland20165,000 2,436; 1,040; 611; 337; 113; 11-
France201716,121 40,000; 15,880; 14,681; 12,020; 8,378; 8,124; 7,869; 40,000; 40,000; 5,000-
Germany2017262,027 272,000; 261,147; 252,446; 203,852; 155,257; 85,683; 16,108; 178,000 in West Germany-
Greece201719,104-32,000 32,000; 19,457; 19,883; 18,198; 16,512; 8,282; 189-
Holy See201750Ukrainian Greek-catholic clergy-
Hungary20117,396 7,393; 19,867; 11,454; 3,040-
Iceland2017335 274; 255; 217; 215; 173; 118; 63; 22; 17; 11-
Ireland20174,908 4,624; 4,564; 4,123; 3,627; 2,189; 925; 170-
Italy2017234,354-236,420 234,354; 230,728-240,141; 222,241-219,050; 180,121; 222,203; 600,000-1,000,000; 117,957; 13,711; 6,959; 206; 12,000; 120,000-
Kosovo201742 145; 449; 24; 31-
Latvia201943,069 50,699; 43,623; 45,798; 47,145; 63,644; 92,101; 66,703; 53,461; 29,440; 1,844; 512-
Liechtenstein201743 37; 20; 14; 9; 6; 3-
Lithuania201512,248 16,423-14,475; 18,521; 22,488; 25,598; 44,789; 31,982; 25,099; 17,692; 43-
Luxembourg2017184-742 742; 175; 115; 133; 154; 160; 169-
Macedonia201764 140; 60; 58; 57; 61; 65-
Malta2017896 336; 268; 145; 92; 36; 30-
Moldova2014325,235 442,475; 600,366; 560,679; 506,560; 420,820; 261,200; 315,004; 379,698; 119,000; 30,000-
Monaco201110-20-
Montenegro2017121 141; 135; 24; 23-
Netherlands2024114.000 5,000; 1,208; 681; 427; 92; 67; 1,000-
Norway20207,700 6,285; 4,236; 2,463; 1,120; 399; 77; 6; 16,562-
Poland20182,000,000 1,200,000-1,500,000; 206,518; 214,193; 263,473; 321,013; 375,267; 438,692-
Portugal201747,360 45,051; 41,091; 52,293; 39,480; 41,870; 66,227; 60,571; 10,882; 6,899; 3,196-
Romania201151,703-200,000 61,098-300,000; 65,472; 55,510; 54,705; 60,479; 45,875-
Russian Federation20153,269,992 1,927,988-2,978,217; 3,293,929; 2,942,961; 3,541,839; 3,485,074; 4,362,872; 3,657,647; 3,345,885; 3,359,083; 3,205,061; 6,870,976; 4,164,847-
San Marino201762 60; 53; 50; 48; 25; 4-
Serbia20114,903 5,354; 5,032; 23,043; 22,636-
Slovakia201510,001 7,430-8,258; 7,365; 10,814; 13,281-
Slovenia20151,764 1,499; 884; 299; 193; 89; 170-
Spain2020112,728 112,728; 90,530-100,000; 84,127; 79,843; 61,162; 2,115; 1,038; 408-
Sweden201911,069 8,000; 6,982; 4,741; 2,777; 1,459; 1,360; 1,146-
Switzerland20177,641 6,681; 7,367; 6,269; 5,401; 4,638; 3,109; 1,593-
United Kingdom201523,414 30,000; 30,000-100,000; 22,000-27,000; 33,000-35,000; 10,000; 150; 500-
ASIA-
Afghanistan201510-
Armenia20152,645 1,176; 1,990; 1,633; 3,008; 5,665; 8,341; 8,900; 8,390; 5,593; 5,496; 2,286-
Azerbaijan200921,509 28,984; 32,345; 26,402; 29,160; 25,778; 23,643; 18,241-
Bahrain2016100-300-
China20163,000-5,000 20,000; 7,000; 35,000-50,000; 30,000-45,000; 65,000-70,000-
Hong Kong, China2016100-
Macau, China201630-
Cyprus20153,650 3,023; 2,181; 1,490; 1,153; 815-
Georgia201522,263 6,034; 24,030; 26,802-7,039; 29,734; 38,158; 46,581-52,443; 45,036; 49,622; 52,236; 45,595; 14,356-
India2014120 105; 96; 78; 63-
Indonesia201721 13-
Iraq201012 1690; 1608-
Iran2019237 900; 260; 603-
Israel201630,000-90,000 135,112-36,649; 131,007-53,577; 47,019; 54,497; 164,271; 22,261; 170,963; 168, 081-
Japan20181,824 1,992; 1,867; 502 236-
Jordan20165,000 892; 874; 694; 480; 263; 45-
Kazakhstan2015338,022 301,346; 333,031; 547,065; 896,240; 897,964; 930,158; 762,131; 658,319; 860,822; 79,573-
Korea, Republic of20162,485-
Kuwait2016400 141; 111; 94-
Kyrgyzstan20219,243 14,485; 21,924; 41,787; 52,617; 50,442; 69,408; 108,027; 109,324; 120,081; 137,031; 137,299; 64,128-
Laos201610-
Lebanon20165,000 1,242; 977; 883; 218; 120; 21-
Malaysia2016500 44; 28; 24-
Maldives201715-
Mongolia201620-
Myanmar201610-
Nepal2015196-
Oman2016200-
Pakistan201090 112; 37; 24-
Philippines201531-
Qatar20161,000-
Saudi Arabia2016600 66; 140; 35-
Singapore2016500 221; 110; 84-
Syria2010574-3,708 644; 567; 473-
Taiwan2017214 214-
Tajikistan20151,250 1,090-1,261; 1,233; 3,787; 41,375; 35,826; 31,671; 26,921; 17,360; 1,090-
Thailand2016800-
Turkey201620,000-35,000 20,547; 4,133; 4,011; 3,893; 2,447; 1,011-
Turkmenistan20154,822 11,000; 23,064; 35,578; 37,118; 35,398; 20,955; 21,778; 6,877-
United Arab Emirates201711,145 5,000; 588-
Uzbekistan2015124,602 129,604; 132,963; 104,720-131,027; 153,360; 153,197; 113,826; 114,979; 87,927; 70,577; 25,335-
Vietnam20161,000-2,000 179; 248; 337-
Yemen2011110-
AFRICA-
Algeria2015300 203; 198; 168-
Angola2018440 14; 76-
Cabo Verde201522 21; 34; 46; 37; 28-
Congo, Democratic Republic2019268 282-
Egypt20164,000 597; 125; 92; 67
Ethiopia201630-
Guinea2015326 293; 169; 189; 104; 96; 84-
Kenya2016100 24; 39-
Liberia2014269 297; 318-
Libya20161,500-2,500 776; 709; 644; 413; 189-
Madagascar20174-
Mauritania2017100-
Mauritius201722-
Morocco2017500 296-
Mozambique2016400-
Namibia2015235 257; 267; 338; 363; 380-
Nigeria2014152 100; 165; 81-
Senegal201435-
Seychelles20173-
Sierra Leone2004449-
South Africa20161,000 4,090; 3,012; 1,887; 1,577; 1,488; 1,822-
South Sudan20174-
Sudan20176-
Tunisia20152,000 264; 249-
Uganda2017100-
NORTH AMERICA-
Bahamas201518 17; 9-
Canada20161,359,655 1,251,170; 1,209,085; 1,071,055; 1,026,475; 1,054,300; 529,615; 580,660; 473,337; 395,043; 305,929; 225,113; 106,721; 100,000; 75,432; 5,682-
Costa Rica2015159 153; 78; 119; 102; 135-
Cuba2015577 641; 702; 705; 1,036; 1,367-
Dominican Republic20161,200-2,000 76; 72; 110; 148; 135; 121-
Mexico20151,500 329; 307; 322; 279; 250-
Nicaragua201578 73; 69; 65; 64; 80-
Panama2015502 428; 271; 128; 94; 66-
United States of America20161,028,492 986,698; 968,754-2,000,000; 939,746; 740,803; 730,056; 2,000,000; 656,000-700,000; 350,000; 350,000; 100,000; 50,000-
SOUTH AMERICA-
Argentine2007
1,000,000
1,000,000; 200,000-240,000; 70,000; 50,000-70,000; 14,000; 1,600; 1,700; 1,600; 250; 46; 30--
Bolivia2015114 98; 106; 114; 57-
Brazil2015600,000 500,000; 250,000-400,000; 120,000; 45,000; 5,000-
Chile20131,000 98; 128; 157; 96; 35; 40; 300-
Colombia2015226 211; 188; 197; 203; 208-
Ecuador2015401 276; 197; 167; 151; 134-
Paraguay201810,000-12,000 12,000-40,000; 5,000-8,000; 10,800-
Peru2017500 241; 223; 109; 206; 176; 150; 171-
Uruguay2018300 10,000-15,000; 8,000-10,000-
Venezuela20133,000 1,100; 1,500; 3,400; 8-
OCEANIA-
Australia201138,791 37,800; 30,000-50,000; 34,000; 20,608; 5,000-
New Zealand2018672-1,152 672–1,402; 1,263; 1,104; 817; 330; 247; 170-
Vanuatu20165-
ANTARCTICA202011 12; 11; 10; 11; 14; 13; 15; 15–36; 15; 12; 13; 12; 11; 13; 12; 4 Scientific and technical activities. Staff of Ukrainian Vernadsky Research Base -

Communities

Europe

France

According to INSEE, the Ukrainian population of France was 24,700 in 2017.

Italy

Italy has the biggest Ukrainian minority in Western Europe, accounting for more than 230,000 people.

Poland

The number of Ukrainians in Poland changed dramatically following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, rising to 1,55 million in 2025.

Portugal

Ukrainians constituted the second-largest foreign community residing in Portugal, with 44,074 residents in 2012.

Russia

As of 2021, there are 884,007 ethnic Ukrainians in Russia. They form the country's eighth-largest ethnic group.

Serbia

In Serbia, there are 4,903 ethnic Ukrainians with Serbian citizenship according to the 2011 census. According to the 2002 census there were 5,354 and according to the 1991 census 5,042. Until 1971, Ukrainians and Pannonian Rusyns were counted together.

Spain

According to official Spanish statistics, there are 112,728 Ukrainians in Spain as of late 2019, being the 11th biggest foreign nationality found in Spain.

United Kingdom

List of notable British people of Ukrainian descent:

North America

Canada

In 2016, there were an estimated 1,359,655 persons of full or partial Ukrainian origin residing in Canada, making them Canada's eleventh largest ethnic group. Canada therefore has the world's second-largest Ukrainian population outside Ukraine, after Russia.

United States

According to a 2006 government estimate, there were 976,314 Americans of Ukrainian ancestry.
The Ukrainian diaspora in the United States consists of approximately 1.1 million individuals who were born in Ukraine or reported Ukrainian ancestry, according to tabulations from the 2019 ACS. It is not among the top 20 diasporas in size.