Mykolayiv Oblast – A Small Yet Spacious Region
Located in the southern half of Ukraine, the Mykolayiv Oblast is relatively small compared to other regions. Despite the fact that the region is incredibly beautiful, there are relatively few noteworthy towns and cities to be found here. Perhaps the most noteworthy city is the administrative center of the region, Mykolayiv. The region is sometimes also referred to as the Mykolaiv Oblast.
The Mykolayiv Oblast covers a relatively small area of roughly 24,600 square kilometers of land. This accounts for only about 4.07% of Ukraine so the region really isn’t all that big. It is estimated that at least 1.2 million people live in the oblast – the majority of whom can be found in the various cities and towns of the Mykolayiv Region. Of these, about 60% live in the region’s biggest city, Mykolayiv. The remaining 44% of the population live in agricultural or rural areas. Despite the fact that Mykolayiv serves as the administrative, cultural and industrial center of the region, living conditions here certainly aren’t cramped. In fact, Mykolayiv has one of the lowest population densities in the country.
The Mykolayiv Oblast is bordered by the four other regions, namely: Odessa, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson. It also shares a small portion of its borders with the shoreline of the Black Sea and is home to several small ports. The city of Mykolayiv is supported by the Mykolayiv International Airport and this makes transport to and from the region fairly uncomplicated. It isn’t difficult to see that the Mykolayiv Oblast was named for it’s primary city. This is in accordance with tradition and you will find that the vast majority of the different oblasts in Ukraine are named after their capital cities – usually with a feminine suffix on the end of the name. That is why the Mykolayiv Oblast is sometimes referred to as “Mykolaivshchyna”. If Mykolaivshchyna truly could be likened to a woman as her name suggests, she would be a petite but beautiful one who always smiled warmly at you and had a fun-loving sparkle in her eyes. So why not visit this small region and learn more about it for yourself.