Ternopil Oblast (), also referred to as Ternopilshchyna () or Ternopillia (), is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Ternopil, through which flows the Seret, a tributary of the Dniester. Population:
One of the natural wonders of the region are its cave complexes. Although Ternopil Oblast is among the smallest regions in Ukraine, over 100 caves have been discovered there.
Language
thumb|right|400px|According to the [[2001 Ukrainian census, Ukrainian was the native language for over 98% of Ternopil Oblast's population: it was the dominant language in all of the city, town, and village councils of the oblast.]]
Ternopil Oblast was one of the few oblasts of the Ukrainian SSR where the share of Ukrainian speakers was increasing despite the Russification of Ukraine carried out in the USSR. Native language of the population of Ternopil Oblast according to the results of population censuses:
{| class="standard sortable"
! ||1959||1970||1989||2001
|-
| Ukrainian||94.6%||97.1%||97.3%||98.3%
|-
| Russian||2.9%||2.6%||2.5%||1.2%
|-
| Other||2.5%||0.3%||0.2%||0.2%
|}
Native language of the population of the raions and cities of Ternopil Oblast according to the 2001 Ukrainian census:
{| class="standard sortable"
! ||Ukrainian||Russian
|-
| Ternopil Oblast ||98.3%||1.2%
|-
| City of Ternopil ||94.8%||3.4%
|-
| Berezhany Raion ||99.3%||0.6%
|-
| Borshchiv Raion ||99.2%||0.7%
|-
| Buchach Raion ||99.6%||0.3%
|-
| Husiatyn Raion ||99.4%||0.4%
|-
| Zalishchyky Raion ||99.5%||0.5%
|-
| Zbarazh Raion ||98.3%||1.6%
|-
| Zboriv Raion ||99.7%||0.2%
|-
| Kozova Raion ||99.6%||0.3%
|-
| Kremenets Raion<br />(in pre-2020 borders) ||98.7%||1.1%
|-
| Lanivtsi Raion ||99.2%||0.7%
|-
| Monastyryska Raion ||99.6%||0.3%
|-
| Pidvolochysk Raion ||99.5%||0.4%
|-
| Pidhaitsi Raion ||99.8%||0.1%
|-
| Terebovlia Raion ||99.4%||0.5%
|-
| Ternopil Raion<br />(in pre-2020 borders) ||99.5%||0.4%
|-
| Chortkiv Raion<br />(in pre-2020 borders) ||98.3%||1.5%
|-
| Shumsk Raion ||99.4%||0.5%
|}
Ukrainian is the only official language on the whole territory of Ternopil Oblast.
On 6 November 2018, a moratorium on the public use of Russian-language cultural products was imposed in Ternopil Oblast by a decision of the Ternopil Oblast Council.
According to a poll conducted by Rating from 16 November to 10 December 2018 as part of the project «Portraits of Regions», 95% of the residents of Ternopil Oblast believed that the Ukrainian language should be the only state language on the entire territory of Ukraine. 2% believed that Ukrainian should be the only state language, while Russian should be the second official language in some regions of the country. 3% found it difficult to answer.
In 2022, Ternopil Oblast Council approved the «Regional Programme for the Development and Functioning of the Ukrainian Language in the Ternopil Oblast for 2023—2027», 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, 94.6% of posts from Ternopil Oblast were written in Ukrainian (92.0% in 2023, 85.8% in 2022, 49.5% in 2020), while 5.4% were written in Russian (8.0% in 2023, 14.2% in 2022, 50.5% in 2020).
After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, Ternopil 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 Ternopil Oblast:
{| class="standard"
|-
| Language of instruction, <br />% of pupils || 1991—<br />1992 || 1992—<br />1993 || 1993—<br />1994 || 1994—<br />1995 || 1995—<br />1996 || 2000—<br />2001 || 2005—<br />2006 || 2007—<br />2008 || 2010—<br />2011 || 2012—<br />2013 || 2015—<br />2016 || 2018—<br />2019 || 2021—<br />2022 || 2022—<br />2023
|-
| Ukrainian|| 97.6% || 98.0% || 98.4% || 98.7% || 99.0% || 99.7% || 99.8% || 99.9% || 99.9% || 99.9% || 99.9% || 99.9% || 100.0% || 100.0%
|-
| Russian || 2.4% || 2.0% || 1.6% || 1.3% || 1.0% || 0.3% || 0.2% || 0.1% || 0.1% || 0.1% || 0.1% || 0.1% || — || —
|-
|}
According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in the 2023—2024 school year, all 105,619 pupils in general secondary education institutions in Ternopil Oblast were studying in classes where Ukrainian was the language of instruction.
Age structure
: 0-14 years: 15.7% (male 86,309/female 81,940)
: 15-64 years: 69.0% (male 360,305/female 381,271)
: 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 53,364/female 110,887) (2013 official)
Median age
: total: 38.6 years
: male: 35.8 years
: female: 41.4 years (2013 official)
Economy and transportation
thumb|Bridge near Terebovlia
The economy is predominantly agriculturally oriented. Among industries, there is a well developed food industry particularly sugar production, alcohol, and dairy (such as butter). There is also number of factories such as "Vatra" (lighting equipment), Ternopil Harvester Plant, "Orion" (radio communication) among a few.
Ternopil Oblast has an adequate network of highways, while the city of Ternopil is located at the intersection of main European corridors along the E50 and E85 highways. There is a small airport in Ternopil (Ternopil Airport) which however mostly is used for charter flights. There is a well developed railroad network which is a part of the Lviv Railways. Water transportation is very limited and mostly along the Dniester River.
Subdivisions
thumb|Map of Ternopil Oblast after July 2020
thumb|Map of Ternopil Oblast before July 2020
After 18 July 2020
{|class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#ECECEC"
| rowspan=2|# || rowspan=2|Name || rowspan=2|Center || rowspan=2|Year || rowspan=2|Area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>) || rowspan=2|Population || rowspan=2|Hromadas || colspan=3|Populated place
|- bgcolor="#ECECEC"
| width=10%|City || width=10%|Town || width=10%|Village
|-
| 1 || Kremenets || Kremenets || || || 144,7 || 8 || 4 || 1 ||
|-
| 2 || Ternopil || Ternopil || || || 566,9 || 25 || 7 || 6 ||
|-
| 3 || Chortkiv || Chortkiv || || || 334,3 || 22 || 7 || 9 ||
|}
Before 18 July 2020
Before the 2020 administrative reform, Ternopil Oblast was administratively subdivided into 17 raions (districts), as well as 1 city (municipality) which is directly subordinate to the oblast government: Ternopil, the administrative center of the oblast. The average area of a raion was around , the biggest one was Terebovlia Raion covering and the smallest one - Pidhaitsi Raion with . The average population number was around 50.6 thousands which is just below the national average.
{| border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="text-align:left; border:1px solid #ddd; font-size:90%; " summary="Raions of the Ternopil Oblast and their capital cities"
|+ style="background:#ddd; vertical-align:bottom; text-align:left; font-size:111%; font-weight:bold; padding:.5em 0;" | Raions of the Ternopil Oblast
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! || style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | In English
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | In Ukrainian
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | Administrative Center
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0; "
||| Berezhany Raion
|Бережанський район <br />Berezhanskyi raion
|Berezhany <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Borshchiv Raion
|Борщівський район <br />Borshchivskyi raion
|Borshchiv <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0; "
||| Buchach Raion
|Бучацький район <br />Buchatskyi raion
|Buchach <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Chortkiv Raion
|Чортківський район <br />Chortkivskyi raion
|Chortkiv <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0; "
||| Husiatyn Raion
|Гусятинський район <br />Husiatynskyi raion
|Husiatyn <br />(Urban-type settlement)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Kozova Raion
|Козівський район <br />Kozivskyi raion
|Kozova <br />(Urban-type settlement)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0;"
||| Kremenets Raion
|Кременецький район <br />Kremenetskyi raion
|Kremenets <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Lanivtsi Raion
|Лановецький район <br />Lanovetskyi raion
|Lanivtsi <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0;"
||| Monastyryska Raion
|Монастириський район <br />Monastyryskyi raion
|Monastyryska <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Pidhaitsi Raion
|Підгаєцький район <br />Pidhayetskyi raion
|Pidhaitsi <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0;"
||| Pidvolochysk Raion
|Підволочиський район <br />Pidvolochyskyi raion
|Pidvolochysk <br />(Urban-type settlement)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Shumsk Raion
|Шумський район <br />Shumskyi raion
|Shumsk <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0;"
||| Terebovlia Raion
|Теребовлянський район <br />Terebovlanskyi raion
|Terebovlia <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Ternopil Raion
|Тернопільський район <br />Ternopilskyi raion
|Ternopil <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0;"
||| Zalishchyky Raion
|Заліщицький район <br />Zalishchytskyi raion
|Zalishchyky <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
||| Zbarazh Raion
|Збаразький район <br />Zbarazkyi raion
|Zbarazh <br />(City)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#f0f0f0;"
||| Zboriv Raion
|Зборівський район <br />Zborivskyi raion
|Zboriv <br />(City)
|}
Notable people
In town of Buchach was born a Nobel Prize recipient, writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon. and actor 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) in height
- Lee Strasberg, American theatre director and actor
- Mykola Bychok, Cardinal who participated in the 2025 papal conclave which elected Leo XIV was born here in 1980
Gallery
<gallery widths=180>
File:UA-TE Ternopol Buran 02 28-08-11.JPG|Ternopil Buran
File:1. Почаївська лавра.JPG|Pochaiv Lavra
File:61-224-0001 Zbarazh Castle RB 18.jpg|Zbarazh Castle
File:Čortkiv, celek, kostel.jpg|Chortkiv
File:Панорама Кременця з Замкової гори.JPG|Kremenets from Zamkova Hill
File:Berezhany Ukr (212).JPG|Berezhany
File:Панорама Теребовлі з Замкової гори.jpg|Terebovlia
File:Народний будинок (мур) Борщів.jpg|Borshchiv
File:Бучач - панорама Західна сторона. Андрій Л..jpg|Buchach
File:Zalischyky panorama1.jpg|Zalishchyky
File:Теребовлянський замок - 2.jpg|Terebovlia Castle
File:Waterfall Chervonohorod.jpg|Dzhuryn Waterfall
File:61-208-5089 NNP Dnister Canyon 2 RB.jpg|Dniester Canyon National Nature Park
File:Дівочі скелі.jpg|Kremenets Mountains National Nature Park
File:Medobory zap.jpg|Medobory Nature Reserve
File:Печера Вертеба Вхід.JPG|Entrance to Verteba Cave
</gallery>
See also
- Subdivisions of Ukraine
- List of Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin
References
External links
- Ternopil Council website