This article aims at identifying the phenomenon of interethnic division of labor in Volhynia. Based on the 1897 census data, the authors prove that though the interethnic division of labor, based on different ways of life support for ethnic groups, was essential for the eastern regions of the empire, it was an insignificant phenomenon for Volhynia. The 1897 census recorded a total of 2,989,482 people in the province, including 703,477 economically active persons and 2,286,005 persons living at their expense. The main occupation in the province was agriculture, which ensured the expanded reproduction of the workforce: 407,215 (57.9% of all those employed in the national economy) independent farmers provided for themselves and 1,812,773 family members (dependents), or in other words, one fed another 4.5 people. Farmers covered the shortage of personnel in other industries in both rural and urban areas. In addition to agriculture, 74,952 (10.7%) were engaged in industry, 63,956 (9.1%) in services, 42,002 (6.0%) in trade, and 9,195 (1.3%) in transport. 5,329 people or 0.8% of all workers were employed in regional administration, and 8,446 or 1.2 % - in cultural institutions, education, science, and medical care; 6,088 people or about 0.9 % in religious cults, 49,793 people or 7.1% of all employed in the armed forces. By the end of the 19th century, the interethnic division of labor in Volhynia was formed as a result of political and economic factors.The Slavic,Turkic,and German population had similar employment structures, with agriculture predominant. Germans, Czechs, and Belarusians were poorly integrated into the urban community. Little Russians, who made up 2,095,579 people, that is, the majority of the population of the province, played secondary roles in the cities, numbering 46,060 people or about 20% of the city dwellers. Jews, limited in their ability to engage in agriculture, made up half of the population of the cities, and were also concentrated in shtetls that did not have city status; their main occupations were crafts (34.9%), trade (32.8%), services (11.7%), education and culture (9.7%). The Great Russian population performed the main connecting economic, cultural, and administrative functions. © 2024 Association 'Rus'. All rights reserved.