Sumy Oblast

Sumy Oblast
Сумська область
Sumska oblast
Nickname: 
Сумщина (Sumshchyna)
Country Ukraine
Administrative centerSumy
Government
  GovernorOleh Hryhorov
  Oblast council64 seats
  ChairpersonViktor Fedorchenko
Area
  Total
23,834 km2 (9,202 sq mi)
  RankRanked 16th
Population
 (2022)
  Total
1,035,772
  RankRanked 19th
GDP
  Total₴ 105 billion
(€2.7 billion)
  Per capita₴ 100,760
(€2,600)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
Area code+380-54
ISO 3166 codeUA-59
Raions18
Cities15
Settlements20
Villages1492
HDI (2022)0.737
high
FIPS 10-4UP21
NUTS statistical regions of UkraineUA12
Websitesorada.gov.ua

Sumy Oblast (Ukrainian: Сумська область, romanized: Sumska oblast), also known as Sumshchyna (Сумщина), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. The estimated population is 1,035,772 (2022 estimate).

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.