You're reading: Ukraine’s population shrinks by 80,600 people in 2012

Ukraine's population at the end of 2012 amounted to 45.553 million people, or 80,600 people less than in 2011, the State Statistics Service has reported.

The population of towns and cities in Ukraine remained almost unchanged – there was a reduction in the rural population, which amounted to 14.174 million people.

There were 520,700 births and 663,100 deaths in Ukraine last year, and the natural population decline was 142,400. At the same time, the migration growth of 61,800 people was reported last year: 76,400 people entered Ukraine and 14,500 people left the country.

The population in 2012 increased in 11 of the 27 regions in Ukraine – a record number in the past few years: Volyn, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa regions, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and in the cities of state subordination – Kyiv and Sevastopol. Lviv region saw the minimum reduction of the population (200 people).

At the same time, the natural population increase in the past year was recorded only in six regions (Volyn, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi regions and in Kyiv), while in the remaining regions a positive growth was reported to positive migration processes.

The leader in terms of the population decline is Chernihiv region – 10,700, or 9.2% of natural decline. A natural population decline of 6-7% was reported in Sumy, Poltava, Cherkasy, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while Donetsk region, by the total number of the population, became the leader in terms of the absolute population decline – by 27,700 people.

The maximum natural increase was reported in Rivne and Zakarpattia regions (3.5% and 3.3% respectively) and in absolute terms in Kyiv (by 6,000, or 2.2%). Given the migration, the population of the Ukrainian capital last year grew by 30,800 people.