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Minorities in Ukraine form 22.2 percent of the country's population as of 2001. Large ethnicRussian (the largest ethnic minority in the country),Belarusian,Moldovan,Crimean Tatar,Bulgarian,Hungarian, andRomanian minorities exist inUkraine,[1] andRomania andHungary have striven for theminority rights of the minorities they respectively represent.[2] Ukraine also has a small number ofPoles,Jews,Armenians,Roma and other nationalities.[3]
Issues regarding minorities in Ukraine are, according toFinancial Times, the biggest potential obstacle to the start of negotiations for theaccession of Ukraine to the European Union.[4]Prime Minister of HungaryViktor Orbán has threatened to veto Ukraine's process ofEU accession numerous times over minority rights issues.[4]
The following table shows the number and percentage of the population belonging to major (above 5,000 people) ethnic minorities per the2001 Ukrainian census.[1]
| Nationality | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Russians | 8,334,141 | 17.199% |
| Belarusians | 275,763 | 0.569% |
| Moldovans | 258,619 | 0.534% |
| Crimean Tatars | 248,193 | 0.512% |
| Bulgarians | 204,574 | 0.422% |
| Hungarians | 156,566 | 0.323% |
| Romanians | 150,989 | 0.312% |
| Poles | 144,130 | 0.297% |
| Jews | 103,591 | 0.214% |
| Armenians | 99,894 | 0.206% |
| Greeks | 91,548 | 0.189% |
| Tatars | 73,304 | 0.151% |
| Romani | 47,587 | 0.098% |
| Azerbaijanis | 45,176 | 0.093% |
| Georgians | 34,199 | 0.071% |
| Germans | 33,302 | 0.069% |
| Gagauz | 31,923 | 0.066% |
| Koreans | 12,711 | 0.026% |
| Uzbeks | 12,353 | 0.025% |
| Chuvash | 10,593 | 0.022% |
| Mordvins[a] | 9,331 | 0.019% |
| Turks | 8,844 | 0.018% |
| Lithuanians | 7,207 | 0.015% |
| Arabs | 6,575 | 0.014% |
| Slovaks | 6,397 | 0.013% |
| Czechs | 5,917 | 0.012% |
| Kazakhs | 5,526 | 0.011% |
| Latvians | 5,079 | 0.01% |
Other notable ethnic minorities are theAlbanians,[5]Austrians,[6]Crimean Karaites,[7]Krymchaks,[8]Swedes (in Gammalsvenskby)[9] andVlachs.[10]
The 2001 Ukrainian census listed seven sub-ethnic groups of Ukrainians:Boykos,Hutsuls,Lemkos,Litvins,Polishchuks,Rusyns, andPinchuks [uk], with nobody identifying as the latter at the time of the census.[11] Other sub-groups of Ukrainians include theBatyuks [uk],Bukovinians,Dolynians [uk],Opolyans [uk],Podolyans,Pokuttians [uk],Siverians,Slobozhans [uk], andVolhynians. Outside of Ukraine, the Rusyns are often recognized as a separate nationality.
Russian sub-ethnic groups in Ukraine are theLipovans andMolokans,[12] as well as theGoryuns, who self-identify as a separate ethnic group distinct from both Russians and Ukrainians, or as a mix of the two.[13] Other such groups are the Crimean and Nadazovia Greeks;[14]Carpathian,Crimean,Galician,Mennonite,Volhynian, andZipser Germans; as well asMeskhetian Turks,[15]Bessarabian Bulgarians, andHollenders.[16]
According to the 2021 law "On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine", theindigenous peoples of Ukraine are defined as ethnic minorities with distinctive languages, cultures, and representative bodies, that formed on the territory of Ukraine and do not have their own state entities outside of the country. The law lists theCrimean Tatars,Crimean Karaites andKrymchaks as such indigenous peoples of Crimea.[17][18] There have been attempts to recognize other groups, such as theGagauz and the Nadazovia Greeks, as indigenous.[19][20]