Demography and social economy, 2019, 1(35):26-40
doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/dse2019.01.026
UDC 314.47:314.422.6(477)
JEL CLASSIFICATION: J11

N.M. Levchuk
Dr. (Economics), Chief Researcher
Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
01032, Kyiv, Taras Shevchenko Blvd., 60
E-mail: levchuk.nata@gmail.com

L.V. Luschik
Leading Economist
Dr. (Economics), Chief Researcher
Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
01032, Kyiv, Taras Shevchenko Blvd., 60
E-mail: lvluschik@ukr.net

INTERREGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN LIFE EXPECTANCY WITHIN UKRAINE: MAIN TRENDS AND CHANGES
Section: DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES
Language: Ukrainian
Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the regional trends in changes in mortality and to estimate interregional differences in life expectancy in Ukraine during the 1990–2017 time period. Using a dispersion measure of mortality, we estimated interregional differentiation in life expectancy and defined the periods of convergence and divergence of mortality across regions of Ukraine. We found a reverse relationship between the dispersion of mortality and life expectancy. Life expectancy across regions tended to converge over time when mortality was decreasing. In contrast, decline in life expectancy was accompanied by increasing regional dispersion of mortality and divergence among regions. We also analyzed the regional variations in life expectancy by sex. Differences in male life expectancy between oblasts of Ukraine are much greater than those in female life expectancy although the amplitude of spatial differences in mortality and the magnitude of gender gap have decreased since 2008. Different regions experienced changes at a different pace. The visual inspection of life expectancy across oblasts revealed the recent shift in regional mortality profile compared to the period of 1990s. Our analysis shows that geographical pattern of mortality does not display a clear west-east gradient anymore. Instead, there is much more complex geographical division of Ukraine’s demographic space with four distinct groupings: the West, Central- East, North and South. The first group comprises seven western oblasts with the highest life expectancy. The Central-East has mid-range life expectancy and positive changes in mortality (except for Kirovohrad Oblast). There also two regions where life expectancy at birth is notably low: the North that has recently emerged as a region with a worse situation in mortality and the South with traditionally low life expectancy. An analysis of factors accounting for these regional variations in mortality is necessary.
Key words: life expectancy, mortality, interregional differences, dispersion measure of mortality, Ukraine.
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