Demographics
The population is largely Russian-speaking although ethnic Ukrainians constitute a majority (58%). Among the minorities are native Russians (39%), Belarusians (0.8%), and others (1.4%). According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census more than 68.8% of the population consider themselves as Russian speakers, while Ukrainian speakers were only 30%.
Its population (as of 2004) of 2,461,506 million constitutes 5.13% of the overall Ukrainian population. The Luhansk Oblast rates fifth in Ukraine by the number of its inhabitants, having an average population density of 90.28 /km². About 87% of the population lives in urban areas, and the rest – 13%, reside in agricultural areas. According to the national census, 54.0% of the population are Ukrainians and 42% are Russians.
Read more about this topic: Luhansk Oblast