Ukrainian is considered to be the native language by 78% of the polled citizens.
This is evidenced by the data of the All-Ukrainian survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in cooperation with the Razumkov Centre sociological service.
69.5% of respondents, assessing their level of Ukrainian language proficiency, said they were fluent, 27% said their level of Ukrainian was sufficient for everyday communication, but it was difficult for them to speak it on special topics, 2% said they did not understand Ukrainian well and it was a problem for them to communicate in it, and 0.5% said they did not understand Ukrainian at all.
While 95% of respondents in the Western region are fluent in Ukrainian, 65% in the Central region, 60% in the Southern region, and 50% in the Eastern region. In the Central, Southern, and Eastern regions, the share of those who say that their level of Ukrainian is sufficient for everyday communication is relatively high, but they find it difficult to speak it on special topics (33.5%, 35%, and 39.5%, respectively), while in the Western region, the number of such respondents is only 4%. Those who understand Ukrainian poorly make up 7% in the Eastern region, 4% in the Southern region, 0.7% in the Central region, and 0.0% in the Western region. Those who do not understand Ukrainian at all make up 2%, 0.4%, 0.1% and 0.0%, respectively.
The share of those who are fluent in Ukrainian is higher the younger the respondents (from 65% among those aged 60 and over to 76% among young people aged under 30).
Ukrainian was named as a native language by 78% of respondents, compared to 68% in 2017, 60% in 2015, and 52% in 2006. 13% of respondents said that both Ukrainian and Russian are equally native to them (in 2006, 16% of respondents gave this answer, in 2015 - 22%). The share of those who say Russian is their native language is 6%, in 2006 it was 31%, in 2015 - 15%.
Compared to 2006, the share of those who say Ukrainian is their native language has increased from 90% to 98% in the Western region, from 72% to 87% in the Central region, from 41% to 57% in the Southern region, and from 32% to 48% in the Eastern region. In these regions, 1%, 9%, 21%, and 32.5% consider both Ukrainian and Russian to be their native languages, respectively. Russian - 0.2%, 3%, 17% and 17%, respectively.
Only or mostly Ukrainian is spoken at home by 70.5% of respondents, compared to 50% in 2015 and 46% in 2006. Only or mostly Russian is spoken at home by 11% of respondents, compared to 24% in 2015 and 38% in 2006. Approximately 18% speak Ukrainian and Russian equally (in 2015 - 25%, in 2006 - 15%).
Compared to 2006, the share of those who speak only or mostly Ukrainian at home has increased from 89% to 98% in the Western region, from 62% to 79% in the Central region, from 32% to 40% in the Southern region, and from 26% to 34% in the Eastern region. Compared to 2006, the share of those who said that they speak Ukrainian and Russian at home sometimes decreased from 4% to 1% in the Western region, did not change statistically significantly in the Central region (16% and 15% respectively), increased from 21% to 33% in the Southern region, and increased from 25% to 38% in the Eastern region. Compared to 2006, the share of those who speak only or mostly Russian at home has decreased from 3.5% to 0.2% in the Western region, from 21% to 6% in the Central region, from 44% to 24% in the Southern region, and from 47.5% to 28% in the Eastern region.
Outside of the home (e.g., at work, at school), 72% of respondents speak Ukrainian only or mostly, compared to 65% in 2023 and 46% in 2015. Only or mostly in Russian 8% of respondents, in 2023 - 8%, in 2015 - 24% Speaking Ukrainian and Russian equally outside the home 20% (in 2023 - 26%, in 2015 - 29%).
Compared to 2015, the share of those who speak only or mostly Ukrainian outside their homes has increased from 92% to 98.5% in the Western region, from 57% to 80% in the Central region, from 16% to 42% in the Southern region, and from 24% to 36% in the Eastern region.
Compared to 2015, the proportion of those who say they speak Ukrainian and Russian outside their homes has decreased from 5% to 1% in the Western region, from 33% to 17% in the Central region, from 41% to 36% in the Southern region, and from 33.5% to 41% in the Eastern region.
The share of those who speak only or mostly Russian outside their homes has not changed statistically compared to 2015 in the Western region (1% and 0.2%, respectively), while in the Central region it has decreased from 9% to 2.5%, in the Southern region - from 39% to 18%, and in the Eastern region - from 42% to 22%.
75.5% of respondents, when asked which language is more prestigious among their friends and colleagues at work or school, said Ukrainian, 6% said Russian, and 16% said ‘it doesn't matter’. In 2015, these figures were 43%, 21.5% and 29% respectively.
Compared to 2015, the share of those who answered this question and named Ukrainian increased from 88% to 98% in the Western region, from 51% to 82% in the Central region, from 16% to 49% in the Southern region, and from 21% to 48% in the Eastern region.
Compared to 2015, the share of those who answered ‘Russian’ decreased from 2% to 0.2% in the Western region, from 11.5% to 3% in the Central region, from 29% to 18% in the Southern region, and from 34% to 15% in the Eastern region.
Compared to 2015, the share of those who answered ‘no matter which one’ decreased from 6.5% to 1% in the Western region, from 32% to 14% in the Central region, from 47% to 30% in the Southern region, and from 38% to 33% in the Eastern region.