A Brief History of the Settlement and Population of Ukraine
From prehistory until present day, the area currently occupied by modern day Ukraine has been populated and ruled by several different civilizations. According to several sources, the first group to settle in this area of Eurasia is known as the Trypillya Culture. As evidenced by archeologists, these peoples established proto-towns sizing in excess of 400 hectares, in which they farmed and domesticated cattle and horses. Unfortunately, by the end of the second millennium BC, these settlers cease to exit ("Ukraine in the," 2007). They were replaced by Slav tribes who, later with Swedish Vikings, established the Kievan Rus state which was based out of Kiev, the current capital of Ukraine. Around 1150, Kievan Rus was broken into multiple principalities, including Ukraine’s predecessor, Kingdom Halych-Volynia, which was later captured by the Mongol Empire during the 13th century (“Worldology,” 2009). For the next several centuries Ukraine would be divided and parts would be controlled by Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Hungary, and Russia. During the majority of the 19th century, Ukraine found itself under the control of the Soviet Union, until ultimately declaring independence in August of 1991 ("Ukraine-a brief historical," 2007).
Ukraine Today
Today Ukraine is made is up of 424 cities or towns,most of which are urban, making Ukraine an urban state with a population of approximately 48.5 million people. Kiev, the capital, is also the biggest city with a population of around 2.6 million people. Ukraine's population is diverse but consists most of Ukrainians who make up over 75% of the population, while ethnic Russians make up only about 17% ("Ukraine in the," 2007).
Informational Websites:
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade provides a wealth of information regarding the geography, economy, and politics of Ukraine.
http://www.ukrexport.gov.ua/eng/about_ukraine/geo/ Another great resource for basic information about Ukraine is National Geographic. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ukraine-facts/ |
Climate and Vegetation
The mostly continental climate and rich black soils make Ukraine a very fertile land, rich in vegetation. These conditions make it easy to understand why populations fought to occupy this land.
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Ukraine Population Comparison: 1950 to 2010
From looking at these three population pyramids we can see several changes over a sixty year period of time. In 1950, we can see that people were having children regularly, but the recorded members of the population were between 75 and 79 years for both males and females. Forty years later in 1990, one year before Ukraine declared independence, the population reached its peak at 51, 643,000 people. We can see that the children ages 0-4 decreased, however, the age of the oldest recorded members of the population increased to about 90 years old for both males and females. Just twenty years later we can see a dramatic decrease of over 6.1 million people total. While the age of the oldest recorded members of the population did not change, we see a dramatic decrease in the number of children 0-9 years of age.
Historical Timeline
History of Ukraine on Dipity.