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Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".
Overview
The system of Ukrainian subdivisions reflects country's status as a unitary state (as stated in the country's constitution) with unified legal and administrative regime for each unit. However, experts agree that the wide autonomy of Crimea, the cultural and historical differences between regions, combined with lack of clarity in separation of powers between the levels of government diminish the formal unity of Ukraine significantly. This has the effect of slowing integration and causing local underdevelopment. The issue of administrative reform are routinely brought up and several projects were proposed but failed to get significant traction. Some of the proposed steps include the integration of a few small oblasts, the broadening of oblast and city authority, clarifying the authority and eliminating the competition between the locally elected and centrally appointed bodies.
For an understanding of the cultural and socioeconomic differences within the country, a knowledge of the Ukrainian historical regions is as crucial as studying its administrative structure.
General scheme of administrative subdivision
Those three types of national-level units are further subdivided into raions (districts). Urban-type settlements are subordinated to either the oblast, or raion, depending on their population and socio-economic importance (see also: List of cities in Ukraine). The raions (districts) are a constituent part of oblasts, but also of large urban settlements (i.e. cities and megacities). The typical misto may be considered to be a city, not a town (compare to City status in the United Kingdom). However, the city's subordination to either oblast or raion should be taken into account, especially in the political sense. There are also a few lowest-level administrative units, which may be generally called villages (Ukrainian: singular ????, selo).
Names of Ukraine's administrative units
| Ukrainian |
Romanized¹ |
English wide-spread |
English recommended (formal use) |
English recommended (informal use) |
| ????????? ?????????? |
avtonomna respublika |
(autonomous) republic, autonomy |
autonomous republic |
autonomy |
| ??????? |
oblast' |
region², province |
oblast |
province |
| ????? |
raion |
district, region³, area |
raion |
district |
| ????o |
misto |
city |
misto |
city |
| ????o ?? ??????????? ???????? |
misto zi spetsial'nym statusom |
municipality |
municipality |
municipality, city |
| ????o ?????????? ???????? |
misto ?blastnoho znachennia |
city of oblast subordinance |
misto ?blastnoho znachennia |
city of oblast subordinance |
| ????o ????????? ???????? |
misto raionnoho znachennia |
city of raion subordinance |
misto raionnoho znachennia |
city of raion subordinance |
| ?????? ???????? ???? |
selysche mis'koho typu |
town, urban-type settlement |
selysche mis'koho typu |
town, urban-type settlement |
| ????????? ????????? ????? |
sel'skyi naselenyi punkt |
village, rural-type settlement |
selo |
village, rural-type settlement |
| ?????? |
selysche |
village |
selysche |
village |
| ???? |
selo |
village |
selo |
village |
Notes
- Romanized using Ukrainian National standard. Details at Romanization of Ukrainian.
- Province is more precise because region may also refer to supranational geographic entity.
- Region is ambiguous since it usually refers to larger national-level units; area is inaccurate.
Oblasts
Most of Ukraine's oblasts (provinces) are named after their capital cities, officially called "centers" (Ukrainian singular: ???????? ?????, oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city. E.g. Poltava is a center of Poltavs'ka oblast' (Poltava Oblast).
Most of them are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna". E.g. Poltava Oblast is also called Poltavshchyna.
Exceptions to this rule include:
- Two oblasts, Volyn and Zakarpattia, which retain the names of their respective historical regions, Volyn' (Volhynia) and Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia), whose respective capitals are Lutsk and Uzhhorod.
- Kiev, which is a municipality independent of the surrounding Kiev Oblast, but also the center of that oblast (administrative bodies of the oblast are situated inside the city).
An oblast center in Ukraine is usually the largest and most developed city in given province.
See also List of etymologies of country subdivision names: "Ukraine".
Autonomous Republic of Crimea
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukrainian: ????????? ?????????? ????, Avtonomna Respublika Krym, Crimean Tatar: Qirim Muhtar Cumhuriyeti), formerly Crimea Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR, is geographically the main part of Crimean peninsula in the south of Ukraine. Its capital is Simferopol.
Municipalities
Municipalities, (i.e. cities with special status, subordinated to Ukraine's central government) include Kiev (the capital of the country) and Sevastopol. They retain their status from the administrative subdivision of Ukrainian SSR. The exact legal status of each city is determined by special laws.
Settlements by Status
| Status [1] |
Status
(in Ukrainian) |
Total Number
(as of 2006) |
| misto / city |
????? |
457 |
| |
municipality |
????? ?? ??????????? ???????? |
2 |
| |
misto ?blastnoho znachennia |
????? ?????????? ???????? |
176 |
| |
misto raionnoho znachennia |
????? ????????? ???????? |
279 |
| selysche miskoho typu / town |
?????? ???????? ???? |
886 |
| selo / village |
????????? ????????? ????? |
28,552 |
| |
selysche |
?????? |
1,364 |
| |
selo |
???? |
27,188 |
Raions
-
Raions are small territorial units of subdivision of Ukraine. There are 490 raions in 24 oblasts and Crimea autonomous republic of Ukraine. An average area of Ukrainian raion is 1,200 km²., an average population of raions is 52,000 people.
See also
External links
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