Genetic Demographic Analysis of Western Ukrainian Populations: The Marriage Structure of Populations from the Khmel'nitskii Oblast with Respect to Ethnicity and Birthplace

Ukrainians account for 85 and 91% of the populations of the city of Khmel'nitskii and the town of Starokonstantinov (Khmel'nitskii oblast, western Ukraine), respectively, and for 97% of the rural population of the Khmel'nitskii oblast. The proportions of Russians in the urban and rural populations of the Khmel'nitskii oblast are 7–10 and 1%, respectively. Between 1960 and 1995–1998, the proportions of Ukrainians in all populations studied increased and the proportion of interethnic marriages steadily decreased. The marriage association coefficient (K) with respect to ethnicity varied from 0.35 to 0.76 in different years. The highest assortative marriage indices (A) with respect to ethnicity were 75–98 and 71–84% in Ukrainians and Jews, respectively. The migration coefficient was 0.58–0.77. Western Ukrainian populations differ from eastern Ukrainian ones in a steadily decreasing outbreeding component.