Rivne Oblast

Administrative divisions

On 19 July 2020, the number of raions was reduced to four. These are:

1. Dubno Raion (Дубенський район), the center is in the city of Dubno;
2. Rivne Raion (Рівненський район), the center is in the city of Rivne;
3. Sarny Raion (Сарненський район), the center is in the city of Sarny;
4. Varash Raion (Вараський район), the center is in the city of Varash.

Until 19 July 2020, Rivne Oblast was administratively subdivided into 16 raions (districts) as well as 4 cities (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Dubno, Varash, Ostroh, and the administrative center of the oblast, Rivne.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, ethnic Ukrainians accounted for 95.9% of the population of Rivne Oblast, ethnic Russians for 2.6%, and ethnic Belarusians for 1.0%.

Rivne is one of the regions with the highest birth rate in all of Ukraine. However the birth rate is not uniform across Rivne, with raions like Ostroh having extremely low birth rates (9.7 per 1000) and other raions like Rokytne Raion having extremely high birth rates (24.0 per 1000).

Vital statistics by raion (2008)

According to statistics the population of Rivne Oblast Central Office at 1 January 2013 is 1,156,900 people.

In 2012, it increased by 2612 people. This was due to natural increase 4014 people at the same time reduce the migration of the population -1,402 people.

Compared to 2011, the volume of natural growth increased by 485 people. Natural movement of the population in 2012 was characterized by an increase in fertility and mortality, compared to 2011. In 2012, the number of births in the region was 619 more than in 2011.

Fertility in rural areas is higher than in urban areas (18 per cent against 13.5 per cent). The total fertility rate for 2012 was 15.9.

Compared to 2011, the mortality rate in 2012 rose from 12.3 to 12.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The mortality rate in rural areas is 1.6 pa za higher than in urban areas.

Language

The Russification of Ukraine carried out during the Soviet era had little to no effect on the Rivne Oblast: the share of Ukrainian-speakers in the region in 1959—1989 fluctuated around 92—95%. Native language of the population of Rivne Oblast according to the results of population censuses:

Native language of the population of the raions and cities of Rivne Oblast according to the 2001 Ukrainian census:

Ukrainian is the only official language on the whole territory of Rivne Oblast.

According to a poll conducted by Rating from 16 November to 10 December 2018 as part of the project «Portraits of Regions», 87% of the residents of Rivne Oblast believed that the Ukrainian language should be the only state language on the entire territory of Ukraine. 8% believed that Ukrainian should be the only state language, while Russian should be the second official language in some regions of the country. 3% believed that Russian should become the second state language of the country. 2% found it difficult to answer.

On 2 May 2024, Rivne Oblast Council approved the «Oblast Targeted Programme to Ensure Comprehensive Development and Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language in All Spheres of Public Life in Rivne Oblast for 2024—2026», the main objectives of which are to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian language in various spheres of public life in the oblast and to Ukrainianize the refugees from other regions of Ukraine.

According to the research of the Content Analysis Centre, conducted from 15 August to 15 September 2024, the topic of which was the ratio of Ukrainian and Russian languages in the Ukrainian segment of social media, 93.0% of posts from Rivne Oblast were written in Ukrainian (86.3% in 2023, 85.2% in 2022, 53.6% in 2020), while 7.0% were written in Russian (13.7% in 2023, 14.8% in 2022, 46.4% in 2020).

After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, Rivne Oblast, as well as Ukraine as a whole, experienced a gradual Ukrainization of the education system, which had been Russified during the Soviet era. Dynamics of the ratio of the languages of instruction in general secondary education institutions in Rivne Oblast:

According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in the 2023—2024 school year, all 164,344 pupils in general secondary education institutions in Rivne Oblast were studying in classes where Ukrainian was the language of instruction.

Age structure

0-14 years: 19.7% (male 116,507/female 110,834)

15-64 years: 68.2% (male 385,381/female 402,566)

65 years and over: 12.1% (male 45,796/female 94,724) (2013 official)

Median age

total: 35.2 years

male: 32.8 years

female: 37.5 years (2013 official)

Points of interest

The some listed historic-cultural sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

• Ostroh Castle
• Trinity Monastery (Korets)
• Dubno Castle
• Spring of St. Anna
• Tarakaniv Fort
• Novomalyna Castle
• Rivne Nuclear Power Plant
• Battle of Berestechko Field
• Narrow-gauge railway (Tunnel of Love)

Nomenclature

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласний центр, translit. oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Rivne is the center of the Rivnens'ka oblast' (Rivne Oblast). Most oblasts are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna", as is the case with the Rivne Oblast, Rivnenshchyna.

Before 1992, under the policy of Russification, the region was officially known under its Russian name of Rovno Oblast.