During World War II, Osypenko Raion was occupied by Nazi Germany between October 1941 and September 1943.

3,260 people from Osypenko Raion were deported to Germany for forced labor and 300 were murdered.

[5] On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Zaporizhzhia Oblast was reduced to five, and the area of Berdiansk Raion was significantly expanded.

[6][7] As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, the raion (excluding Berdiansk itself, which was then designated a city of oblast significance) had a population of 31,631 people.

In terms of self-reported ethnic background, 73% were Ukrainians and 17% were Russians, with small minorities of Belarusians, Bulgarians, and Greeks.