Lemkos

Lemkos (Rusyn: Лeмкы, romanized: Lemkŷ; Polish: Łemkowie; Ukrainian: Лемки, romanized: Lemky) 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 considered to be a sub-group of Ukrainians and Carpathian Rusyns. Members of these groups have historically also been given other designations such as Verkhovyntsi (Highlanders). 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. 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.

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. In Ukraine, almost all Lemkos speak both Lemko and standard Ukrainian (according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census). Ukraine itself categorizes Lemkos as an ethnic subgroup of Ukrainians and not as a separate ethnicity. 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.