Demographics of Ukraine
According to the United Nations, Ukraine has a population of 37.9 million as of 2024.
In July 2023, Reuters reported that due to refugee outflows, the population of Ukrainian-controlled areas may have decreased to 28 million, a steep decline from Ukraine's 2020 population of almost 42 million.
This drop is in large part due to the ongoing Ukrainian refugee crisis and loss of territory caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in mass emigration from the Ukrainian people. The demographic decline is also affected by a very low birth rate and a high death rate. The most recent census of post-Soviet Ukraine occurred in 2001, and much of the information presented is potentially inaccurate or outdated.
Since 2021, the Ukrainian fertility rate has fallen below 1.3, and is now one of the lowest in the world. By 2024, it was one of the ten lowest in the world, falling under 1.00.
History
Historical population
There were roughly four million Ukrainians at the end of the 17th century. However, population estimates from this period are approximate and may vary depending on methodology and available records.The estimated population figures for Ukraine in the early 20th century are based on various sources. The 1931 population statistics were estimated by Professor Zenon Kuzelia, as an official census was not conducted in Soviet Ukraine during that year.
Population change
The following graph represents Ukraine's population trends since the early 20th century.Data for 1926–2001 is based on official Soviet and Ukrainian censuses. The 2014 and 2020 figures are adjusted estimates, excluding Crimea and occupied territories in Donbas.
Natural change and migration
The natural population change, migration trends, and fertility rates are shown below:Natural population change and migration data are sourced from the Ukrainian State Statistics Service. The fertility rate figures are derived from United Nations estimates.
Famines and migration
Demographic impact of the Holodomor and World War II
The Ukrainian famines of the 1930s and the devastation of World War II created a demographic catastrophe for Ukraine. In 1933, life expectancy at birth dropped to as low as 10 years for females and 7 years for males. During 1941–1944, life expectancy plateaued around 25 years for females and 15 years for males.According to The Oxford Companion to World War II, over 7 million Ukrainians — more than one-sixth of the pre-war population — were killed during the conflict.
Migration trends in independent Ukraine
Following Ukraine's independence, significant migration occurred:- 1991–1992: Over 1 million people moved into Ukraine, primarily from other former Soviet republics.
- 1991–2004: A total of 2.2 million immigrants arrived in Ukraine, with 2 million of these coming from other former Soviet Union states.
- Between 1991 and 2004, 2.5 million emigrated from Ukraine, with 1.9 million migrating to other former Soviet Union republics.
Ukrainian diaspora
In 2006, there were approximately 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent, giving Canada the third-largest Ukrainian population worldwide, behind Ukraine and Russia. Significant Ukrainian diaspora communities also exist in Poland, the United States, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Argentina.Recent migration trends and economic impact
Since about 2015, a growing number of Ukrainians have worked in the European Union, particularly in Poland. According to Eurostat, 662,000 Ukrainians received EU residence permits in 2017, with 585,439 of these residing in Poland.World Bank statistics from 2019 revealed that remittances sent back to Ukraine had approximately doubled from 2015 to 2018, making up about 4% of Ukraine's GDP.
Ukraine records only citizens who apply for foreign citizenship, not those who seek foreign residency.
Migration during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, approximately 8 million people fled Ukraine during the ensuing Ukrainian refugee crisis, Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Most refugees sought asylum in Central Europe.Population Decline
According to estimates by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the population of Ukraine on 1 May 2021 was 41,442,615.The country's population has been declining since the 1990s because of a high emigration rate, coupled with high death rates and low birth rates. The population has been shrinking by an average of over 300,000 annually since 1993.
In 2007, the country's rate of population decline was the fourth highest in the world.
But between 2008 and 2010, over 1.5 million children were born in Ukraine, compared with fewer than 1.2 million in 1999–2001. In 2008, Ukraine posted record-breaking birth rates not seen since its 1991 independence. Infant mortality rates also dropped from 10.4 deaths to 8.3 per 1,000 children under one year of age, a lower rate than in 153 other countries.
In 2019, the Ukrainian government conducted an electronic census using multiple sources, including mobile phone and pension data, and estimated that Ukraine's population, excluding Crimea and parts of the Donbas, to be 37.3 million. About 20 million were of active working age.
The Russian invasion considerably deepened the country's demographic crisis due to the military occupation and forced annexation of multiple oblasts, numerous civilians fleeing the country, and high casualties. A July 2023 study by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies stated the following:
"Regardless of how long the war lasts and whether or not there is further military escalation, Ukraine is unlikely to recover demographically from the consequences of the war. Even in 2040 it will have only about 35 million inhabitants, around 20% fewer than before the war and the decline in the working-age population is likely to be the most severe and far-reaching."The study examined different scenarios, from a "best case", in which the war ended in 2023 without significant further escalation, to a "worst case", ending in 2025 after further escalation. Flight from war particularly affects the southern and eastern regions and especially educated women of child-bearing age and their children. With an estimate of more than 20% of refugees not returning, the author of the study Maryna Tverdostup concludes that this will lead to long-term shrinking and will significantly impair the conditions for reconstruction.
Fertility and natalist policies
As of 2020, the birth rate in Ukraine was 8.1 live births/1,000 population, and the death rate 14.7 deaths/1,000 population.Lowest-low fertility, defined as total fertility below 1.3, is being encountered across Europe, attributed by many to postponement of the initiation of childbearing. Ukraine, where total fertility, was one of the world's lowest, shows that there is more than one pathway to lowest-low fertility. Although Ukraine underwent immense political and economic transformations from 1991 to 2004, it maintained a young age at first birth and nearly universal childbearing. Analysis of official national statistics and the Ukrainian Reproductive Health Survey show that fertility declined to very low levels without a transition to a later pattern of childbearing. Findings from focus group interviews suggest that the early fertility pattern was explained by the persistence of traditional norms for childbearing and the roles of men and women, concerns about medical complications and infertility at a later age, and the link between early fertility and early marriage. Ukraine subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with an average age of 40.8 years.
To help mitigate population decline, the government increased child support payments, providing one-time payments of 12,250 hryvnias for the first child, 25,000 hryvnias for the second and 50,000 hryvnias for the third and fourth, along with monthly payments of 154 hryvnias per child. The demographic trend showed signs of improvement as the birth rate grew steadily from 2001 to 2013. Five of the country's 24 provinces showed net population growth over the first nine months of 2007, and nationwide population decline showed signs of stabilization. In 2007, the highest birth rates were in the western oblasts. In 2008, Ukraine emerged from lowest-low fertility, and the upward trend continued to 2012, with population decline slowing year after year. If early 2010s trends had persisted, the population could have returned to positive growth later that decade. Similar trends occurred in Russia and Belarus, which experienced population growth in the 2010s.
In 2014, the strong drop in births returned, and 2018 saw fewer than half the number of births of 1989. In 2020, the number of births decreased to 293,000, reaching rates not seen in a quarter century.
Mass emigration and property destruction caused by the Russian invasion led Ukraine's birth to drop still further: it was 28% lower in the first half of 2023 than the first half of 2021. However, a small but meaningful increase in births may have occurred, with a potential fertility rate increase to 1.60 children per woman, higher than the 2012 peak of 1.53.
Population
Life expectancy
- total population: 71.37 years
- male: 66.34 years
- female: 76.22 years
| Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 61.83 |
| 1955–1960 | 67.11 |
| 1960–1965 | 69.69 |
| 1965–1970 | 70.66 |
| 1970–1975 | 70.57 |
| 1975–1980 | 69.65 |
| 1980–1985 | 69.15 |
| 1985–1990 | 70.55 |
| 1990–1995 | 68.72 |
| 1995–2000 | 67.36 |
| 2000–2005 | 67.46 |
| 2005–2010 | 67.89 |
| 2010–2015 | 71.12 |