Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Coordinates: 47°50′N 35°10′E / 47.833°N 35.167°E / 47.833; 35.167
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Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Запорізька область
Oblast
Zaporizka oblast[1]
Flag of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
Запоріжжя (Zaporizhzhia)
Coordinates: 47°50′N 35°10′E / 47.833°N 35.167°E / 47.833; 35.167
CountryUkraine
Established10 January 1939
Administrative centreZaporizhzhia
Government
 • GovernorYuriy Malashko[2]
 • Oblast council84 seats
 • ChairpersonOlena Zhuk[3]
Area
 • Total27,183 km2 (10,495 sq mi)
 • RankRanked 9th
Population
 (2022)[4]
 • TotalDecrease 1,638,462
 • RankRanked 9th
Gross Regional Product
[5]
 • Total₴ 229 billion
(€5.927 billion)
 • Per capita₴ 138,521
(€3,588)
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Postal code
69-72
Area code+380-61
ISO 3166 codeUA-23
Raions5
Cities (total)14
• Regional cities5
Urban-type settlements23
Villages920
FIPS 10-4UP26
WebsiteZoda.gov.ua

Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Ukrainian: Запорізька область, romanized: Zaporizka oblast), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (Запоріжжя), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of 27,183 square kilometres (10,495 sq mi), and has a population of 1,638,462 (2022 estimate).[4]

This oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture. Most of the area of the oblast has been under Russian military occupation since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, including all of the coast, although the capital and the majority of the population remains under Ukrainian administration.

On 30 September 2022, Russia declared it had annexed the Donetsk (Donetsk People's Republic), Luhansk (Luhansk People's Republic), Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, despite having failed to occupy all of these Ukrainian territories. However, the unofficial referendums and subsequent annexations are not internationally recognized.

To the south, Zaporizhzhia Oblast covers roughly 150 kilometres (93 mi) of coastline of the Sea of Azov, as part of a coastal region known as Pryazovia, also including the coastal regions of Kherson Oblast and Donetsk Oblast, to the west and east, respectively.

Geography

The area of the oblast is 27,183 km2; its population (estimated as of 1 January 2013) was 1,785,243.

Cities

The largest cities are, in order:

Relief

Zaporizhzhia Oblast is characterized by a flat landscape. Soils are mostly chernozem. Knowledge of the relief of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast today is especially important because of the problem of land reclamation and its more intensive use.

The territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast as a whole has a flat topography, but there are markedly elevated and depressed areas, which differ in shape, origin, and age.

The highest central-eastern part of the oblast is the Azov Upland. It extends to the east and to the territory of Donetsk Oblast, where it meets the Donetsk ridge. In the south, between the Azov Upland and the Sea of Azov, is the western part of the Azov coastal plain, which flows into the Black Sea west of the Molochna River. The northeastern end of the coastal plain merges with the Zaporizhzhia inner plain, which borders the southeastern outskirts of the Dnieper Upland. Thus, the territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast consists of two distinct geomorphological parts: the outskirts of the Azov and Dnipro uplands, which structurally correspond to the southeastern part of the Ukrainian crystalline massif and the outskirts of the coastal Priazov and Black Sea plains, which are located within the Black Sea basin.

History

The area corresponding approximately to the modern Zaporizhzhia Oblast—according to Herodotus—was called in antiquity as the land of Gerrhos. This area was the burial place of the kings of the "Royal Scythians".

The modern Zaporizhzhia Oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on 10 January 1939 out of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Zaporizhzhia, Soviet Ukraine, 1990

During the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum, 90.66% of votes in the oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine.[6]

Russian invasion

Further information: Southern Ukraine campaign and Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Damage to a residential building in Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhia following the airstrike of 9 October 2022

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian armed forces occupied the southern part of the oblast, defeating the Ukrainian armed forces at Melitopol and at Enerhodar. Ukrainian forces conducted an attack that destroyed a Russian ship and damaged two others in the port of Berdiansk. As of May 2022, the northern parts of the oblast, including its capital city, Zaporizhzhia, are controlled by Ukraine.

On 4–5 July 2022 during the international Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2022) hosted in the Swiss city Lugano, the Czech Republic, Finland and Sweden pledged to support the rebuilding of Zaporizhzhia region.[7]

On 23–27 September 2022, the Russian Federation held a referendum in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts for "independence and subsequent entry into the Russian Federation". These referendums are recognized by most states to be staged and against international law. On 29 September 2022, the Russian Federation recognized Zaporizhzhia Oblast as an independent state.[8] On 30 September, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and three other Ukrainian territories, and signed "accession decrees" that are widely considered to be illegal.[9][10] At that time, Russia was only in control of about 70% of the province as a whole.[11] The United Nations General Assembly subsequently passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw".[12]

Points of interest

The following sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

Subdivisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Until the major administrative reforms of 2020, the Zaporizhzhia Oblast was administratively subdivided into 20 raions (districts) as well as 5 cities (municipalities) that are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Berdiansk, Enerhodar, Melitopol, Tokmak, and the administrative center of the oblast, Zaporizhzhia.

Map of former raions of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Name Ukrainian name Area
(km2)		 Population
census 2015[13]		 Admin. center Urban population only
Zaporizhzhia Запоріжжя (місто) 334 757,650 Zaporizhzhia (city) 757,650
Berdiansk Бердянськ (місто) 83 117,492 Berdiansk (city) 114,401
Enerhodar Енергодар (місто) 64 54,397 Enerhodar (city) 54,397
Melitopol Мелітополь (місто) 51 156,022 Melitopol (city) 156,022
Tokmak Токмак (місто) 33 32,209 Tokmak (city) 32,209
Berdiansk Raion Бердянський район 1,776 25,533 Berdiansk (city) N/A *
Bilmak Raion Більмацький район 1,300 22,500 Bilmak 9,423
Chernihivka Raion Чернігівський район 1,200 17,331 Chernihivka 5,994
Huliaipole Raion Гуляйпільський район 1,300 27,067 Huliaipole 15,116
Kamianka-Dniprovska Raion Кам'янсько-Дніпровський район 1,240 40,525 Kamianka-Dniprovska 13,223
Melitopol Raion Мелітопольський район 1,780 49,724 Melitopol (city) N/A *
Mykhailivka Raion Михайлівський район 1,067 29,250 Mykhailivka 15,609
Novomykolaivka Raion Новомиколаївський район 915 16,206 Novomykolaivka 6,764
Orikhiv Raion Оріхівський район 1,590 46,239 Orikhiv 20,358
Polohy Raion Пологівський район 1,340 40,576 Polohy 19,552
Pryazovske Raion Приазовський район 1,947 27,636 Pryazovske 9,106
Prymorsk Raion Приморський район 1,400 30,334 Prymorsk 12,085
Rozivka Raion Розівський район 610 8,960 Rozivka 3,289
Tokmak Raion Токмацький район 1,442 22,705 Tokmak (city) N/A *
Vasylivka Raion Василівський район 1,620 64,131 Vasylivka 37,232
Velyka Bilozerka Raion Великобілозерський район 470 8,064 Velyka Bilozerka 6,124
Vesele Raion Веселівський район 1,128 21,756 Vesele 10,042
Vilniansk Raion Вільнянський район 1,280 47,572 Vilniansk 16,795
Yakymivka Raion Якимівський район 1,850 33,942 Yakymivka 15,386
Zaporizkyi Raion Запорізький район 1,462 57,842 Zaporizhzhia (city) N/A *

Note: Asterisks (*) Although the administrative center of the raion is in the city/town that it is named after, cities do not answer to the raion authorities (only towns do), but are directly subordinated to the oblast government and therefore are not counted as part of raion statistics.

Following the reforms of 2020, the oblast is divided into just five new raions, which incorporate the 5 former city (municipalities) that were directly subordinate to the oblast government:

Name Ukrainian name Area
(km2)		 Population
census 2001		 Population
estimate 2021[14]		 Admin. center
Berdiansk Raion Бердянський район 4,456 214,062 179,118 Berdiansk
Melitopol Raion Мелітопольський район 6,962 318,353 280,816 Melitopol
Polohy Raion Пологівський район 6,767 216,933 167,060 Polohy
Vasylivka Raion Василівський район 4,295 217,018 184,224 Vasylivka
Zaporizhzhia Raion Запорізький район 4,693 962,805 855,297 Zaporizhzhia

Demographics

People in Zaporizhzhia in 2015
Zaporizhzhia in 2021

According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the population of the oblast was 1,929,171. Some 70.8% considered themselves Ukrainians, while 24.7% were Russians, the rest nationalities were Bulgarians (1.4%), Belarusians (0.7%), and others (1.6%). Almost half the population (48.2%) considered the Russian language their native.[15]

Age structure

0–14 years: 13.5% Increase (male 124,285/female 116,613)
15–64 years: 70.7% Decrease (male 598,849/female 662,838)
65 years and over: 15.8% Steady (male 91,051/female 190,818) (2013 official)

Median age

total: 41.2 years Increase
male: 37.5 years Increase
female: 44.8 years Increase (2013 official)

Fertility

Year Fertility Birth Year Fertility Birth Year Fertility Birth
1990 1,7 25 960 2000 1,0 13 900 2010 1,3 18 018
1991 1,7 24 739 2001 1,0 14 010 2011 1,4 18 198
1992 1,5 22 624 2002 1,1 14 865
1993 1,4 20 881 2003 1,1 15 301
1994 1,3 19 265 2004 1,1 16 091
1995 1,2 17 820 2005 1,2 15 862
1996 1,2 16 764 2006 1,2 17 241
1997 1,1 16 234 2007 1,3 17 591
1998 1,1 14 968 2008 1,4 18 901
1999 1,0 13 880 2009 1,4 18 409

Education

Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University
Building of the Zaporizhzhia National University
Zaporizhzhia Regional Universal Scientific Library

679 daytime and 11 evening state schools plus 6 daytime schools that are non-budget supported secondary schools involved 271,400 pupils in 2001. 22 classical schools, 8 lyceums, a Sichovy collegium and 54 education-breeding complex bodies aren't out of reach to gifted children. New style 38 complex kindergarten-schools work too.[16]

Over 60,000 children develop their talents through out-of-school institutions. They attend 30 creative centres, 6 science-technical stations and four young naturalists' stations, five tourist clubs, three training flotillas, 11 children's sports clubs and 20 sports schools. The extra-scholastic education system has such a unique body as the Small Academy of Science. Boys and girls work there in six main disciplines: physics-mathematics, chemistry-biology, history-geography, philology, industrial and information technologies. The Small Academy young members maintain close friendly relations with scientists of big institutes and universities. 26 youngsters became winners of the All-Ukrainian Academy contest, so the Zaporizhzhia oblast team gained the 1st place.

325 secondary schools, five classical schools, a collegium, and three comprehensive schools use the Ukrainian language. Nevertheless, the minorities have a free choice—193 schools are Russian, a large Jewish school «Alef» works in Zaporizhzhia and smaller ones exist in other points, a Ukrainian-Bulgarian Lyceum is in Primorsky district. The Greek, Czech, Bulgarian languages are very popular in Yakimivsky, Berdyansky, Priazovsky and Melitopole rural districts. One may learn Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish, Tatar and other languages attending option courses anywhere.

Specialists keep on looking for an adaptive school model. 26 institutions develop the humanization process using new teaching technologies. The Khortitsky multi-profile teaching-rehabilitation centre has worked out methods for complete support of sanatorium-boarding-schools' children. Berdiansk is the town where a regional boarding school for orphans works out active socialization programs.

42 institutions provide vocational education. This system distributes well-trained workers to regional industries and businesses. The list of specialties includes over 100 names. Vocational schools give courses for improving qualifications in cooperation with unemployment centres. More than 1,500 jobless persons get new professions every year due to it.

The higher education system is the most flexible and advanced. Today 25 state-controlled technical colleges have I-II class rank and 8 higher institutions have III-IV class certificates. These are the university and the Zaporizhzhia Politechnic, the Medical University and the Institute of Law with Ministry of Internal Affairs in Zaporizhzhia City, the Pedagogical University, the Agricultural Academy in Melitopol and the Pedagogical Institute in Berdiansk. There are also five higher-education private bodies—the Institute of Economics and Information Technologies, the State and Municipal Government Institute and the others. Over 65,000 people are students in this oblast. There are 212 Doctors of Science and 1,420 Candidates of Science among their lecturers. The city of Zaporizhzhia is one of the biggest centres for foreigners' education in Ukraine.

The International Astronomical Union named two minor planets 5936 Khadzhinov and 19082 Vikchernov in honor of Ukrainians from Zaporizhizhia Oblast who made a significant contribution in science and education.

Economics

Before the Russian invasion, Kyrylivka was a resort town on the Black Sea coast.

Gross regional product

The volume of the gross regional product (GRP) of the oblast in 2016 amounted to ₴104,323 million (9th place among the regions). The total contribution of the oblast to the GRP of Ukraine was 4.4%.

The index of the physical volume of gross regional product in the previous year's prices was 99.7%.

The amount of gross value added (GVA) in 2016 amounted to ₴82,054 million (9th place among the oblasts).

The total contribution of the oblast to the GVA of Ukraine amounted to 4.1% in 2016.

The index of physical volume of gross value added in previous year's prices was 99.8%.

The main types of economic activity that form the GVA of the oblast are:

  • industry (including the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning): 41%
  • agriculture, forestry, and fisheries: 13.9%
  • wholesale and retail trade: 10.4%
  • real estate transactions: 6%[17]

References

  1. ^ Syvak, Nina; Ponomarenko, Valerii; Khodzinska, Olha; Lakeichuk, Iryna (2011). Veklych, Lesia (ed.). Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use (PDF). scientific consultant Iryna Rudenko; reviewed by Nataliia Kizilowa; translated by Olha Khodzinska. Kyiv: DerzhHeoKadastr and Kartographia. p. 20. ISBN 978-966-475-839-7. Retrieved 2020-10-06. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Zelenskyy appoints three chairmen of Oblast Military Administrations, Ukrainska Pravda (7 February 2023)
  3. ^ "For the first time in the history of the Zaporizhhia Regional Council, a woman became its head". Zaporizhzhia Regional Council. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Валовии регіональнии продукт".
  6. ^ Лише 3% українців хочуть приєднання їх області до Росії [Only 3% of Ukrainians want their region to become part of Russia]. Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (in Ukrainian). 3 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Провідні країни Європи відбудовуватимуть Україну, – Гайдай". LB.ua. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  8. ^ "Putin signs decrees paving way for annexing Ukraine territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia". the Guardian. 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  9. ^ "Putin annexes four regions of Ukraine in major escalation of Russia's war". the Guardian. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  10. ^ Maynes, Charles (30 September 2022). "Putin illegally annexes territories in Ukraine, in spite of global opposition". NPR. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Factbox: The four regions that Russia is poised to annex from Ukraine". Reuters. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  12. ^ "Ukraine: UN General Assembly demands Russia reverse course on 'attempted illegal annexation'". 12 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Чисельність населення(Population Quantity)" (PDF). UkrStat (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 8 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ State Statistics Committee of Ukraine (web)
  15. ^ National composition of the population. 2001 Ukrainian Population Census. State Statistics Committee of Ukraine
  16. ^ Запорізька область: Ілюстрована енциклопедія. [Т.2]: Архітектура і містобудування. Культура. Економіка. Райони області / К.С. Карафін, О. І. Красюк. -Запоріжжя : Дике Поле, 2004. - 293 с.
  17. ^ "Express issue". Ukrstat. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019.

Further reading

  • (In Ukrainian) Запорізька область: Ілюстрована енциклопедія. [Т.2]: Архітектура і містобудування. Культура. Економіка. Райони області / К.С. Карафін, О. І. Красюк. -Запоріжжя : Дике Поле, 2004. - 293 с.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zaporizhzhia_Oblast&oldid=1191654033"