Demographics
| Historical population | |
|---|---|
| Year | Pop. |
| 1660 | 1,000 |
| 1788 | 10,742 |
| 1850 | 41,861 |
| 1861 | 50,301 |
| 1901 | 198,273 |
| 1916 | 352,300 |
| 1917 | 382,000 |
| 1920 | 285,000 |
| 1926 | 417,000 |
| 1939 | 833,000 |
| 1941 | 902,312 |
| 1941 | 1,400,000 |
| 1941 | 456,639 |
| 1943 | 170,000 |
| 1959 | 930,000 |
| 1962 | 1,000,000 |
| 1976 | 1,384,000 |
| 1982 | 1,500,000 |
| 1989 | 1,593,970 |
| 1999 | 1,510,200 |
| 2001 | 1,470,900 |
According to the 1989 Soviet Union Census, the population of the city was 1,593,970. In 1991, the population decreased to 1,510,200, including 1,494,200 permanent city residents. Kharkiv is currently the second-largest city in Ukraine after the capital, Kiev.
The nationality structure of Kharkiv as of the 1989 census is: Ukrainians 50.38%, Russians 43.63%, Jews 3%, Belarusians 0.75%, and all others (more than 25 minorities) 2.24%. According to the Soviet census of 1959 there were Ukrainians (48.4%), Russians (40.4%), Jews (8.7%) and other nationalities (2.5%).
According to the census of 2001 done on the Kharkiv region 53.8% consider Ukrainian as their native tongue (3.3% more than in the 1989 census). The Russian language is considered native for 44.3% of the population (a decline of 3.8% since 1989).
Read more about this topic: Kharkiv