Demographic trends and the social sphere development in the Lugansk People’s Republic

The demographic and social development of the Lugansk People's Republic (the LPR) in the period of 2014-2022 is the study subject. The study aim is to identify the main trends and features of the demographic development, as well as the social sphere of the LPR, which were formed, among other things, during the period of the «unrecognized» independence of the republic in 2014-2021, and to outline possible mechanisms to overcome negative trends, taking into account the new status of the region. The research is based on the methods of descriptive, statistical and comparative analysis. The information base was provided by the data of the State Statistics Committee of the LPR. Also, for comparative analysis, some previously collected data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, as well as data from studies by individual authors, were used. The demographic situation in the LPR was analyzed for 2014-2022, and the social sphere development for 2014-2021.The analysis showed that in 2014-2022 the human potential of the region significantly decreased, and the pace of its recovery is still insufficient. The population continues to decline. Natural decrease and migration outflow are the main factors of the population decline. There is observed a negative dynamics in the development of health care systems, as well as secondary and higher education in the LPR, although in recent years there has been stabilization and even an increase in certain indicators. In 2023, the transport and social infrastructure in the LPR was significantly updated at the expense of public funds, which allows us to hope in the future for improvement of a decrease in negative demographic dynamics. However, the demographic problems still require special solutions, proposals for some of which are presented in the article.