Administrative divisions of Ukraine

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The administrative divisions of Ukraine (Ukrainian : Адміністративний устрій України, romanized: Administratyvnyi ustrii Ukrainy) are under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Constitution. Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions (24 oblasts, two cities with special status and one autonomous republic), 136 raions (districts) and 1469 hromadas. [1] [2]

Contents

The administrative reform of July 2020 merged most of the 490 legacy raions and 118 pre-2020 cities of regional significance into 136 reorganized raions, or districts of Ukraine. The next level below raions are hromadas. [3]

Following the annexations of Crimea and southeastern Ukraine by the Russian Federation, Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as well as portions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts came under the de facto administration of the Russian Federation. Internationally, most states have not recognized the Russian claims. [4]

Overview

According to Article 133 of the Constitution of Ukraine as amended, the system of administrative and territorial organization of Ukraine consists of:

In an administrative reform in 2020, all populated places in the country (except for two cities with special status, Kyiv and Sevastopol) were resubordinated to raions. [6] The new figure of 136 raions includes 10 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol; since September 2023, the Crimean raions are functional. [7]

Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Level of subdivisionTerritoryTotal
First autonomous republic 1
cities with special status 2
oblasts (regions)24
Second raions (districts)136
Third hromadas (territorial communities)1469

First level

There are three types of first-level administrative divisions: 24 oblasts (regions), 1 autonomous republic and 2 cities with special status.

ColourDescription
  24 oblasts
An oblast in Ukraine, sometimes translated as region or province, is the main type of first-level administrative division of the country. Ukraine is a unitary state, thus the oblasts do not have much legal scope of competence other than that which is established in the Ukrainian Constitution and by law. Articles 140–146 of Chapter XI of the constitution deal directly with local authorities and their competency.
The administrative status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is recognized in the Ukrainian Constitution in Chapter X: Autonomous Republic of Crimea and is governed in accordance with laws passed by Ukraine's parliament. In 2014, the autonomous republic was illegally annexed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea. [8]
There are two cities with special status: Kyiv and Sevastopol (occupied since 2014). Their administrative status is recognized in the Ukrainian Constitution in Chapter IX: Territorial Structure of Ukraine. [9] Unlike the oblasts and the autonomous republic, the cities with special status only have urban districts and are not subdivided into hromadas.

List

FlagCoat of armsNo.NameArea (km2)Population
(2021 estimate)
Population density
(people/km2, 2021)
CapitalNo. of raionsNo. of hromadasLocation
Flag of Crimea.svg Emblem of Crimea.svg 1 Autonomous
Republic of Crimea
26,0811,967,25975.43 Simferopol 10 Crimea in Ukraine.svg
Prapor Vinnytskoyi oblasti.svg Coat of Arms of Vinnytsa Oblast.svg 2 Vinnytsia Oblast 26,5131,529,12357.67 Vinnytsia 663 Vinnytsia in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Volyn Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Volyn Oblast.svg 3 Volyn Oblast 20,1441,027,39751.00 Lutsk 454 Volyn in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.svg Large Coat of Arms of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.svg 4 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast 31,9743,142,03598.27 Dnipro 786 Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Donetsk Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Donetsk Oblast 1999.svg 5 Donetsk Oblast 26,5174,100,280154.63 Donetsk
(de jure)
Kramatorsk
(de facto)
866 Donetsk in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Zhytomyr Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Zhytomyr Oblast.svg 6 Zhytomyr Oblast 29,8321,195,49540.07 Zhytomyr 465 Zhytomyr in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Transcarpathian Oblast.svg Karpatska Ukraina-2 COA.svg 7 Zakarpattia Oblast 12,7771,250,12997.84 Uzhhorod 664 Zakarpattia in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Zaporizhia Oblast.svg Coat of arms of Zaporizhia Oblast.svg 8 Zaporizhzhia Oblast 27,1801,666,51561.31 Zaporizhzhia 567 Zaporizhia in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast2.svg Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast-COA.svg 9 Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast 13,9281,361,10997.72 Ivano-Frankivsk 662 Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Kyiv Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Kiev Oblast.svg 10 Kyiv Oblast 28,1311,788,53063.58 Kyiv 769 Kyiv (oblast) in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Kirovohrad Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Kirovohrad Oblast.svg 11 Kirovohrad Oblast 24,588920,12837.42 Kropyvnytskyi 449 Kirovohrad in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Luhansk Oblast.svg Coat of Arms Luhansk Oblast.svg 12 Luhansk Oblast 26,6842,121,32279.50 Luhansk
(de jure)
Sievierodonetsk
(de facto, 2014–2022)
837 Luhansk in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Lviv Oblast.svg Gerb L'vovskoi oblasti.png 13 Lviv Oblast 21,8332,497,750114.40 Lviv 773 Lviv in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Mykolaiv Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Mykolaiv Oblast.svg 14 Mykolaiv Oblast 24,5981,108,39445.06 Mykolaiv 452 Mykolaiv in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Odesa Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Odesa Oblast.svg 15 Odesa Oblast 33,3102,368,10771.09 Odesa 791 Odessa in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Poltava Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Poltava Oblast.svg 16 Poltava Oblast 28,7481,371,52947.71 Poltava 460 Poltava in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Rivne Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Rivne Oblast.svg 17 Rivne Oblast 20,0471,148,45657.29 Rivne 464 Rivne in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Sumy Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Sumy Oblast.svg 18 Sumy Oblast 23,8341,053,45244.20 Sumy 551 Sumy in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Ternopil Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Ternopil Oblast.svg 19 Ternopil Oblast 13,8231,030,56274.55 Ternopil 355 Ternopil in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Kharkiv Oblast.svg COA of Kharkiv Oblast.svg 20 Kharkiv Oblast 31,4152,633,83483.84 Kharkiv 756 Kharkiv in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Kherson Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Kherson Oblast.svg 21 Kherson Oblast 28,4611,016,70735.72 Kherson 549 Kherson in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Khmelnytskyi Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Khmelnytskyi Oblast.svg 22 Khmelnytskyi Oblast 20,6451,243,78760.25 Khmelnytskyi 360 Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Cherkasy Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Cherkasy Oblast.svg 23 Cherkasy Oblast 20,9001,178,26656.38 Cherkasy 466 Cherkasy in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Chernivtsi Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Chernivtsi Oblast.svg 24 Chernivtsi Oblast 8,097896,566110.73 Chernivtsi 352 Chernivtsi in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Chernihiv Oblast.svg Coat of Arms of Chernihiv Oblast.svg 25 Chernihiv Oblast 31,865976,70130.65 Chernihiv 557 Chernihiv in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Kiev.svg Coat of arms of Kiev.svg 26 Kyiv 8392,962,1803530.61 Kyiv 10 Kiev (city) in Ukraine.svg
Flag of Sevastopol.svg COA of Sevastopol.svg 27 Sevastopol 864385,870446.61 Sevastopol 4 Sevastopol in Ukraine.svg

Autonomous republic

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukrainian : Автономна Республіка Крим) geographically encompasses the major portion of the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine. Its capital is Simferopol. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only region within Ukraine that has its own constitution.

On 16 March 2014, after the occupation of Crimea by the Russian military, a referendum on joining the Russian Federation was held. A majority of votes supported the measure. On 21 March 2014, the Russian Duma voted to annex Crimea as a subject into the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian government does not recognize the referendum or annexation of Crimea as legitimate. On 27 March, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 68/262 by 100 to 11 votes, recognizing the referendum as invalid and denying any legal change in the status of Crimea and Sevastopol.

Oblasts

An oblast (Ukrainian : область; pl. області) is on the first level of the administrative division of Ukraine.

Most oblasts are named after their administrative center. Volyn and Zakarpattia oblasts, whose respective capitals are Lutsk and Uzhhorod, are named after the historic regions Volhynia and Transcarpathia.

Cities with special status

Two cities have special status (Ukrainian : міста зі спеціальним статусом): Kyiv and Sevastopol. Their special status puts them on the same administrative level as the oblasts, and thus under the direct supervision of the state via their respective local state administrations, which constitute the executive bodies of the cities. Following the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Sevastopol is controlled by Russia and is incorporated as a federal subject of Russia. [10] [11]

Second level

Raions

Raions (Ukrainian : район; pl. райони) are smaller territorial units of subdivision in Ukraine. There are 136 raions. [12] Following the December 2019 draft constitutional changes submitted to the Verkhovna Rada by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 136 new raions have replaced the former 490 raions of Ukraine. [13]

Urban districts

An urban district is subordinate to the city administration. [14]

Third level

Hromadas

The territorial hromadas (Ukrainian : територіальна громада; lit. 'territorial community'; pl. територіальні громади), or simply hromadas (Ukrainian : громада; pl. громади) were established by the Government of Ukraine on 12 June 2020 as a part of administrative reform that started in 2015. [15]

There are three types of hromadas: rural (Ukrainian : сільська громада), settlement (Ukrainian : селищна громада) and urban (Ukrainian : міська громада). There are 1469 hromadas in total (as of November 1, 2023). [16]

History

Cossack Hetmanate

The Cossack Hetmanate was divided into military-administrative districts known as regimental districts (polks) whose number fluctuated with the size of the Hetmanate's territory. In 1649, when the Hetmanate controlled both the right and left banks, it included 16 such districts. After the loss of Right-bank Ukraine, this number was reduced to ten. The regimental districts were further divided into companies ( sotnias ), which were administered by captains ( sotnyk ). [17] The lowest division was the kurin.

Ukrainian People's Republic

Zemlias of Ukraine in 1918 Ukrainian People Republic administrative division.png
Zemlias of Ukraine in 1918

According to the Constitution of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the country was divided into zemlias (lands), volosts and hromadas (communities). This law was not fully implemented as on 29 April 1918 there was the anti-socialist coup in Kyiv, after which Pavlo Skoropadskyi reverted the reform back to the governorate-type administration. [18]

Soviet Ukraine

Before the introduction of oblasts in 1932, Soviet Ukraine comprised 40 okruhas, which had replaced the former Russian Imperial governorate subdivisions. [19] [20]

In 1932 the territory of the Soviet Ukraine was re-established based on oblasts. At the same time, most of the Western Ukraine at the time formed part of the Second Polish Republic and shared in the Polish form of administrative division based on voivodeships. [21]

See also

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