Lemkos

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Lemkos

Flag of Lemkos[1]
Members of the folk group Osławianie from Mokre in original Lemko highlander folk-costumes
Total population
75,228
Regions with significant populations
Slovakia	63,556 (2021)[a][2]
Poland	11,000 (2011)[3]
Ukraine	672 (census 2001) other sources - 350,000[4] [5]
Languages
Rusyn, Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian
Religion
Predominantly Ukrainian Greek Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, with Roman Catholic minorities
Related ethnic groups
Ukrainians, Boykos, Hutsuls, Rusyns

Lemkos (Rusyn: Лeмкы, romanized: Lemkŷ; Polish: Łemkowie; Ukrainian: Лемки, romanized: Lemky; Slovak: Lemkovia) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (Rusyn: Лемковина, romanized: Lemkovyna; Ukrainian: Лемківщина, romanized: Lemkivshchyna) of Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland.

Lemkos are often considered to be either a sub-group of Rusyns or Ukrainians or to form their own ethnicity. Members of these groups have historically also been given other designations such as Verkhovyntsi (Highlanders).^{[citation needed]} Among people of the Carpathian highlands, communities speaking the same dialect will identify with a different ethnic label when crossing borders due to the influence of state-sponsored education and media. As well the same community may switch its preferred identification over time.^{[citation needed]} In Slovakia between the 1991 and 2001 censuses, the number of people identifying as "Ukrainian" declined by 2,467 people (an 18.6% decrease) while those reporting Rusyn as their national identity increased by 7,004 people (a 40.6% increase). It is not clear however, if this refers to the same individuals switching their identification, more young first-time respondents choosing Rusyn, or migration.^[6]

The spoken language of the Lemkos, which has a code of rue under ISO 639-3, has been variously described as a language in its own right, a dialect of Rusyn or a dialect of Ukrainian.^{[citation needed]} In Ukraine, almost all Lemkos speak both Lemko and standard Ukrainian (according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census).^[4] Ukraine itself categorizes Lemkos as an ethnic subgroup of Ukrainians and not as a separate ethnicity.^[7] In the Polish Census of 2011, 11,000 people declared Lemko nationality, of whom 6,000 declared only Lemko nationality, 4,000 declared double national identity – Lemko-Polish, and 1,000 declared Lemko identity together with a non-Polish identity.^[3] I.D. Liubchyk (І.Д.Любчик)^[8] cites the number of 350 thousand Lemkos in Ukraine. During the population census in Ukraine in 2001, the majority of Lemkos called themselves Ukrainians.

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