Administrative divisions of Ukraine
The system of Ukrainian subdivisions reflects country's status as a unitary state (as stated in the country's constitution) with unified legal and administrative regime for each unit. However, experts agree that the wide autonomy of Crimea, the cultural and historical differences between provinces, combined with a lack of local democracy and order, diminish the formal unity of Ukraine significantly. The territorial, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of some oblasts (such as of Donetsk and Chernivtsi oblasts) also weaken Ukraine's unity. This has the effect of slowing integration and causing local underdevelopment. So well-grounded reasons exist for reforming Ukraine's territorial structure, including: the integration of a few small oblasts, the broadening of oblast and city authority, and restricting the autonomy of the Crimean peninsula.
For an understanding of the cultural and socioeconomic differences within the country, a knowledge of the Ukrainian historical regions is as crucial as studying its administrative structure.
Ukraine is subdivided into twenty-four oblasts (provinces) and one autonomous republic (avtonomna respublika), Crimea. Additionally, two cities (misto), Kiev (Kyiv) and Sevastopol, have a special legal status. The oblasts are subdivided into 494 raions (districts).
Oblasts and autonomous republic
| 1 | Cherkasy | 10 | Khmelnytskyi | 19 | Sumy |
| 2 | Chernihiv | 11 | Kirovohrad | 20 | Ternopil |
| 3 | Chernivtsi | 12 | Kiev Oblast | 21 | Vinnytsia |
| 4 | Crimea | 13 | Luhansk | 22 | Volyn |
| 5 | Dnipropetrovsk | 14 | Lviv | 23 | Zakarpattia |
| 6 | Donetsk | 15 | Mykolaiv | 24 | Zaporizhia |
| 7 | Ivano-Frankivsk | 16 | Odessa | 25 | Zhytomyr |
| 8 | Kharkiv | 17 | Poltava | ||
| 9 | Kherson | 18 | Rivne |
