Ukraine had a population of around 44 million before the 2022 invasion. Millions have since fled abroad — principally to Poland, Germany and other EU countries — and millions more have been internally displaced. The pre-war population count is now a historical figure.
Ukrainians are Slavic people with a distinct language, culture and national identity that predates modern Russia. The Ukrainian language is closely related to Russian and Belarusian, but it is its own language — not a dialect. Since 2022, many Russian-speaking Ukrainians have consciously switched to Ukrainian as an act of resistance and identity.
The country is ethnically diverse. Ethnic Ukrainians make up around 77% of the population. Russians were historically concentrated in the east and south. Hungarians, Romanians, Moldovans and Roma communities are present in the western borderlands.
Religion is central to Ukrainian identity. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (independent since 2019) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (strongest in the west, using Byzantine rites while remaining in communion with Rome) are the two major denominations. The Russian Orthodox Church had a significant presence in Ukraine, but its influence has collapsed since 2022.
Ukrainians are notably hospitable to visitors. Receiving guests properly — with food, drink and genuine attention — is taken seriously. Expect generosity in people's homes. The folk arts — embroidery (vyshyvanka), woodcarving, ceramics, and the elaborate decorated Easter eggs known as pysanky — remain living traditions rather than museum pieces.
Ukrainians have a sharp and self-deprecating sense of humour, and a strong streak of independent-mindedness that has driven repeated popular uprisings — the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the Euromaidan of 2013–14 among them. Since 2022 this has translated into extraordinary resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.