Oblasts of Ukraine

Oblasts of Ukraine
Volyn Rivne Zhytomyr Kiev Khmel. Ternopil I.F. Zakarpattia Chernivtsi Vinnytsia Cherkasy Kirovohrad Mykolaiv Poltava Chernihiv Sumy Kharkiv Dnipropetrovsk Odessa Kherson Zaporizhia Donetsk Crimea Luhansk Azov Sea Black Sea Russia Belarus Poland Romania Moldova Lviv • • Dnieper
Category	Subdivision of a unitary state
Location	Ukraine
Created	27 February 1932 (84 years ago) (1932-02-27)
Number	24 (as of 1991)
Populations	904,000 (Chernivtsi) - 4,450,000 (Donetsk)
Areas	8,100 km2 (3,126 sq mi) (Chernivtsi) – 33,300 km2 (12,860 sq mi) (Odessa)
Government	Oblast State Administration, Oblast Council
Subdivisions	490 raions (districts)

An oblast (Ukrainian: область), in English referred to as a region, refers to one of Ukraine's 24 primary administrative units. Ukraine is a unitary state, thus, the regions do not have much legal scope of competence other than that which is established in the Ukrainian Constitution and by law. Articles 140-146 of of the constitution deal directly with local authorities and their competency.

Oblasts are further subdivided into raions (districts), ranging in number from 11 to 27 per entity.

In Ukraine the term Oblast denotes a primary administrative division. Under the Russian Empire and into the 1920s, Ukraine was divided between several Governorates. The term oblast itself was first introduced in 1932 by Soviet authorities when the Ukrainian SSR was divided into seven oblasts replacing the previous subdivision system based on okruhas and encompassing 406 raions (districts). The first oblasts were Vinnytsia Oblast, Kiev Oblast, Odessa Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Soon after that in the summer of 1932 Donetsk Oblast was formed out of eastern parts of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts; in the fall of 1932 Chernihiv Oblast was formed on the border of Kiev and Kharkiv oblasts.