70% of Ukrainians use Ukrainian in everyday life

In 2022, the share of citizens who use the Ukrainian language in everyday life increased to 71%, up from 64% in 2021. This is evidenced by the results of a nationwide survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation.

The level of use of the Russian language has decreased by almost 10%. According to the poll, the results of the survey may be related to the effect of a symbolic rejection of the enemy language, and partly to the inability to conduct public opinion polls in the temporarily occupied or frontline territories of the South and East.

The Russian language remains common in everyday communication in the Southern and Eastern macro-regions.

There are also differences in the language practices of residents of different types of settlements. In particular, as was the case in the past, Russian is still the language of everyday communication in the cities of the South and East of Ukraine, while residents of villages and towns are mostly Ukrainian-speaking.

The number of people who consider Ukrainian their native language has also increased. While in 2021, the share of the population who considered Ukrainian their native language was 77%, it rose to 87% over the year. At the same time, Ukrainian language identity prevails in all regions of Ukraine.

The issue of the relationship between language identity and language practice remains relevant. Some Ukrainian citizens who consider Ukrainian to be their native language speak Russian at home. In particular, this is the case in the South and East of the country, where almost 40% of Ukrainians who consider Ukrainian their native language mostly speak Russian at home.

As reported, 30% of Russian-speaking Ukrainians consider Ukrainian their native language. 83% of Ukrainians believe that Ukrainian should be the only official language in Ukraine.

Photo: Democratic Initiatives Foundation