1983: A LOOK BACK: 1980 census tabulations (12/25/83)

1983: A LOOK BACK

1980 census tabulations

This was the year that the Ukrainian community in the United States learned more about itself thanks to newly released tabulations of the 1980 census. Census results showed that there are 730,056 Ukrainians in the United States - not 2 million as some sources claim - and that they constitute a mere .39 percent of the total U.S. population.

Further analysis of these new statistics was provided by demographer Oleh Wolowyna of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

In response to the census question concerning ancestry, 47.8 percent of the total number of Ukrainians listed Ukrainian and at least one other ancestry group, while 52.2 percent listed Ukrainian only as their ancestry. These figures reflect the high number of mixed marriages among Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian community also learned that its members are highly concentrated in certain regions of the United States, with almost half of them living in the Middle Atlantic region that encompasses New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and another 20 percent in the East North Central region that includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The statistics also showed that language retention is closely correlated with residence in areas with large Ukrainian communities. Thus, the percentage of Ukrainians speaking Ukrainian is higher in states like New York than in, say, Arizona. The figures clearly demonstrate that moving away from large communities increases the chances of language loss.

Because the 1980 census asked questions about ancestry and language spoken at home other than English, our demographer was able to learn that out of the three-quarters of a million Ukrainians in the United States, 17 percent, or about 123,000, speak Ukrainian. However, among those Ukrainians who listed Ukrainian only as their ancestry, close to one-third speak Ukrainian.

Analysis of the statistics on language retention showed that among East European ethnic groups Ukrainians have the highest level of language retention and, thus, are the least assimilated in this group.

Therefore, though assimilation among Ukrainians is high in absolute terms, in relation to other East Europeans Ukrainians fare quite well.

As Mr. Wolowyna suggests, careful analyses of the 1980 census statistics would go a long way in aiding the Ukrainian community in planning activities for schools, youth organizations, churches and other organizations.

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