The estimated population is 1,035,772 (2022 estimate).[3]
The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy. Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka. The modern region combines territories of the historical Severia (northern part) and Sloboda Ukraine (southern part). On territory of the Sumy Oblast important centers of Ukrainian culture are located, such as the city of Hlukhiv which served as a hetman residence during the Cossack Hetmanate as well as the cities of Okhtyrka and Sumy which were regional centers of the Sloboda Ukraine.
The oblast has a heavy mix of agriculture and industry, with over 600 industrial locations. Among the most notable was the Soviet film stock manufacturer Svema in Shostka. Importantly, seven rivers pass through the oblast.
Geography
The Sumy Oblast is situated in the northeastern part of Ukraine. In Ukraine it borders Chernihiv Oblast to its west, Poltava Oblast – southwest, and Kharkiv Oblast – southeast. To its east Sumy Oblast borders the Russian Federation including Bryansk on the northeast, Kursk and Belgorod on the east. The length of the state borderwith the Russian Federation is 563.8 km (350.3 mi). There are three railway border crossing (Volfine, Pushkarne, Zernove) and five highway border crossings (Bachivsk, Katerynivka, Ryzhivka, Yunakivka, Velyka Pysarivka). In regard to border crossings, since 2006 the city of Sumy has an airport which has an international checkpoint.
On its territory the Dnieper Lowland transitions east to the Central Russian Upland. The northern part of Sumy Oblast is part of the Polesie Lowland as its eastern region. Elevation is 110–240 m above sea level.[5]
Its area (23,800 km2) constitutes 3.95% of the country.
Seven main rivers flow through the oblast, with Desna River being the largest.[5] All of them are transit because crossing the oblast flowing from the territory of the Russian Federation west towards Dnieper. All rivers in Sumy Oblast are part of the Dnieper River basin.
The Sumy Oblast contains 168 objects and territories of natural reserve. The oblast is rich in picturesque banks of numerous rivers, and sources of mineral waters.
Major environmental problems are: soil erosion, pesticide pollution, air and water pollution. The city has a problem of garbage utilization.
The only place for pesticide utilization in Ukraine[citation needed] is Shostka, Sumy Oblast.
The local administration of the oblast is controlled by the Sumy Oblast council. The governor of the oblast (chairman of state regional administration) is appointed by the President of Ukraine.
Demographics
At the 2001 census, the ethnic groups within the Sumy Oblast were: 88.8% Ukrainians, 9.4% Russians.[11] A major Russian subethnicity in the region is the Goryuns.
Age structure
0-14 years: 12.7% (male 74,529/female 70,521)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 386,250/female 422,077)
65 years and over: 16.5% (male 60,374/female 127,306) (2013 official)[citation needed]
The main industrial activities of the oblast are: chemical mechanical engineering, pumping and energy mechanical engineering, agricultural machine-construction, instrument-making industry and radio electronics, technical equipment production for processing fields of agro-industrial complexes, mining and iron ore production industry, polygraph industry and medicine production, oil and gas processing, chemical production, film and photo material production (See: Svema), and chemical fertilizer production. In general, there are 273 large industry enterprises and 327 small industry enterprises.
Agriculture
In 1999, the gross grain yield was about 446,000 tons, sugar beets – 664,000 tons, sunflower seeds – 27,700 tons, potatoes – 343,600 tons. The region also produced 108,700 tons of meat, 517,800 tons of milk and 295,300,000 eggs. At the beginning of 1999, there were 781 registered farms in the oblast.
Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласний центр, translit.oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relativeadjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Sumy is the center of the Sums’ka oblast (Sumy Oblast). Most oblasts are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna", as is the case with the Sumy Oblast, Sumshchyna.
^ ab"ІNVESTMENT PASSPORT of Sumy oblast"(PDF). investukraine.com. State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine. 2013. Archived from the original(PDF) on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.