According to the United Nations, Ukraine has a population of 36.7 million as of 2026.

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 Russo-Ukrainian war, which resulted in mass emigration. The demographic decline is also affected by a very low birth rate and a high mortality rate. The most recent (and only) census of post-Soviet Ukraine occurred in 2001, and much of the information presented is potentially inaccurate or outdated.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.Subtelny, Orest. Ukraine: A History. University of Toronto Press, 2000, p. 152. 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,Kuzelia, Zenon. Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia Vol. 1. University of Toronto Press, 1989, p. 134. 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.State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Population Censuses in Ukraine. Retrieved January 5, 2025. The 2014 and 2020 figures are adjusted estimates, excluding Crimea and occupied territories in Donbas.United Nations. World Population Prospects 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2025.

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.State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Demographic Reports 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2025. The fertility rate figures are derived from United Nations estimates.United Nations Population Division. Fertility Rate Estimates 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2025.

Notes

The population estimate for the 17th century is approximate and based on historical demographic models. The 1931 population figure is not from an official census but from an academic estimate. Post-2014 population figures exclude Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions under occupation.

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.Ian Dear, Michael Richard Daniell Foot (2001). The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. p. 909.

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.Malynovska, Olena (January 2006). "Caught Between East and West, Ukraine Struggles with Its Migration Policy". National Institute for International Security Problems, Kyiv. Retrieved 3 July 2008.

As of 2015, immigrants made up an estimated 11.4% of the total population of Ukraine, equating to 4.8 million people.

Ukrainian diaspora

In 2006, there were approximately 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent,"Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data" . Statistics Canada. 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 Russo-Ukrainian war

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, approximately 9 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 (excluding Crimea) 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 (2021: 42.8 million) 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 (1.1 in 2001), 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. The demographic situation in Ukraine in January–September 2009, State Statistics Committee of Ukraine 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."Ukraine's birth rate shows first positive signs in decade". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (UNIAN). 5 October 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2008. 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 (see demographic tables). 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 occur in the future, with a projected fertility rate increase to 1.60 children per woman in the year 2030, higher than the 2012 peak of 1.53.

Population

Life expectancy

total population: 71.37 years male: 66.34 years female: 76.22 years (2013 official)

Average life expectancy at birth of the total population.

PeriodLife expectancy inYears1950–195561.831955–1960 67.111960–1965 69.691965–1970 70.661970–1975 70.571975–1980 69.651980–1985 69.151985–1990 70.551990–1995 68.721995–2000 67.362000–2005 67.462005–2010 67.892010–2015 71.12

Total fertility rate

1.12 children born/woman (2000) 1.44 children born/woman (2010) 1.22 children born/women (2020)

Vital statistics Notable events in Ukrainian demographics: 1932–33 – Holodomor in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 1939 – Addition of western oblasts to Ukraine with the end of the Second Polish Republic due to German–Soviet invasion of Poland at the beginning of Second World War 1991 – Independence from the USSR 2004–2005 – Orange Revolution 2014 – Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation 2022 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire (1900-1914)