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Introduction to Ukrainian language and culture
Introduction to Ukrainian language and culture

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3.2 The people

Ukraine is an ethnically diverse nation. Around 80% of the population identify as ethnic Ukrainian. There are also many minority communities, including Russians, Poles, Jews, Crimean Tatars, Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Romanians, Armenians and others. There are also migrants from further afield, for example Africa, the Middle East, Vietnam.

In 2021, approximately 70% of the population was living in urban areas. However, there are still many rural communities and traditional village life continues – as you can see in this video about the traditional lifestyle of Hutsul weavers in the Carpathian Mountains.

Video 3 Ukrainian mountain weavers refuse to surrender their traditions in war or peace (The Open University is not responsible for external content.)
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The Ukrainian population is overwhelmingly Christian, predominantly belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, whilst 8 – 10% of the population are Ukrainian Greek Catholics. There are also Jewish and Muslim communities, each accounting for less than 1% of the population.

Information from The World Bank [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] and Statista.