Survey: Number of Ukrainian speakers increased to 71% amid full-scale war

The number of Ukrainians who speak Ukrainian in everyday life increased from 64% in 2021 to 71% in 2022, according to a survey conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation.

The survey breakdown revealed that 96% of respondents from western Ukraine spoke Ukrainian at home. In central Ukraine, 78% of people spoke Ukrainian in their everyday life, while in the south and east, 35% and 40% of people spoke Ukrainian, respectively.

The conductors of the survey noted that it was impossible to collect information from Ukrainians living on the front lines or in the occupied territories, meaning that the overall percentage of Ukrainian speakers Ukrainian can be lower.

The number of people who consider Ukrainian to be their native language has always increased from 77% to 87%, according to the survey. 

However, the survey conductors said that some respondents in the south and east of Ukraine replied that they continue to speak Russian at home, even if they consider Ukrainian to be their native language. Nonetheless, they speak Ukrainian in public.

While Russian remains the predominant language in parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian language continues to be more widely spoken in towns and villages.

Additionally, 38% of Ukrainians believe that the study of Russian literature should be completely removed from schools, while 28% are in favor of reducing their presence in the curriculum.