At the time of the annexation of Bukovina by the Habsburg Empire, in this territory lived approx. 68 700 inhabitants, of whom approx. 60% were Romanians, approx. 31-32% - Ukrainians (Ruthenians and Hutsuls) and approx. 8% representatives of other ethnic groups, mainly Jews, Gypsies and Armenians. As a result of migration and colonization of Bukovina, there was a rapid population growth, but also a substantial change in ethnic and confessional structure, to the detriment of the Romanian population. Only within two decades, the percentage of Romanian nationality inhabitants decreased from 48.5% in 1850 to 40.8% in 1869. Austrian censuses from the years 1880-1910, which registered population based on their language of communication, witnessed particularly a significant reduction of Romanian speakers. In 1910, from the total population of Bukovina, 38.4% were speakers of Ukrainian, 34.4% - of Romanian, 21.2% - of German (mostly Jews), 4.6% - of Polish, 1.3% - of Hungarian. During Austrian rule, the religious structure of the population also significantly changed. In 1910, from the total of approx. 800 thousand inhabitants of Bukovina, 68.4% were Orthodox, 12.9% Mosaic, 12.3% Roman Catholic, 3.3% Greek Catholic, 2.5% Lutheran, 0.4% Lipovans.