Plovdiv Province

Plovdiv Province (Template:Langx: Oblast Plovdiv, former name Plovdiv okrug) is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, obshtini, sing. общинa, obshtina) on a territory of Template:Cvt<ref name="phare">Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 Template:Webarchive</ref> with a population, as of February 2011, of 683,027 inhabitants.<ref name="divisions">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="population">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pop-stat-divisions">Template:Cite web</ref> The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the city of Plovdiv.

Geography

File:SeloVrata.jpg

View of the Rhodopes near the village of Vrata in the south of the province

Plovdiv Province includes parts of the Upper Thracian Plain, the Rhodopes, Sredna Gora, the Sub-Balkan valleys and Stara Planina, including its highest peak, Botev (2,376m). The main rivers in the province are Maritsa, Stryama, Pyasachnik. There are numerous dams, the most important of which is Pyasachnik. Mineral springs are abundant; there are several major spa resorts — Hisarya, Narechen, Banya, and minor spas at Klisura, Asenovgrad, Kuklen, Rosino, Krasnovo, Stoletovo, and others. There are many natural landmarks, especially in the Central Balkan National Park, including the spectacular waterfall Raysko Praskalo, the highest in the Balkans.

Municipalities

File:Plovdiv Oblast map.png

Municipalities of Plovdiv province

Plovdiv Province (Област, oblast) contains 18 municipalities<ref>Oblast Haskovo -official website Template:Webarchive</ref> (singular: община, obshtina, plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of 31st December 2024.

Municipality	Cyrillic	Pop.<ref name="divisions"/><ref name="population"/><ref name="pop-stat-divisions"/>	Town/Village	Pop.<ref name="population"/><ref name="statistika">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pop-stat">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="villages under 1000">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Settlements 1000-5000">Template:Cite web</ref>
Asenovgrad	Асеновград	56,859	Asenovgrad	45,362
Brezovo	Брезово	5,877	Brezovo	1,527
Hisarya	Хисаря	9,952	Hisarya	5,888
Kaloyanovo	Калояново	10,231	Kaloyanovo	2,186
Karlovo	Карлово	44,894	Karlovo	18,803
Krichim	Кричим	7,128	Krichim	7,128
Kuklen	Куклен	6,134	Kuklen	5,559
Laki	Лъки	2,043	Laki	1,502
Maritsa (Plovdiv rural)	Марица	31,191	Plovdiv	see below
Perushtitsa	Перущица	4,148	Perushtitsa	4,148
Plovdiv (city)	Пловдив	329,489	Plovdiv	329,489
Parvomay	Първомай	20,757	Parvomay	10,973
Rakovski	Раковски	25,389	Rakovski	14,718
Rodopi (Plovdiv rural)	Родопи	32,359	Plovdiv	see above
Sadovo	Садово	14,528	Sadovo	2,339
Sopot	Сопот	8,139	Sopot	7,238
Stamboliyski	Стамболийски	17,654	Stamboliyski	9,723
Saedinenie	Съединение	8,858	Saedinenie	4,917

Towns

The province's capital is the city of Plovdiv; other towns include Karlovo, Sopot, Klisura, Kalofer, Hisarya, Saedinenie, Rakovski, Brezovo, Stamboliyski, Krichim, Perushtitsa, Sadovo, Parvomay, Asenovgrad, Laki, Katunica, and Yiagodovo.

Demographics

Template:Historical populationsPlovdiv Province had a population of 715,904 (715,816 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which Template:Pct were male and Template:Pct were female.<ref name="NSI Census 2001">Template:In lang Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex Template:Webarchive from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Template:Webarchive</ref> As of the end of 2009, the population, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 701,684<ref name="divisions" /> of which Template:Pct are over 60 years of age.<ref name="NSI age">Template:Cite web</ref>

Ethnic groups

Template:Bar box Total population (2011 census): 683 027<ref>Template:In lang Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute</ref>
Ethnic groups (2011 census):<ref>Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute Template:In lang</ref> Identified themselves: 620 373 persons:

• Bulgarians: 540 303 (87,09%)
• Turks: 40 255 (6,49%)
• Romani: 30 202 (4,87%)
• Others and indefinable: 9 613 (1,54%)

A further 60,000 persons in Plovdiv Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Ethnic groups according to the 2001 census, when 715 816 people of the population of 715,904 of Plovdiv Province identified themselves (with percentage of total population):<ref name="NSI Census 2001 Ethnicity">Template:In lang Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Template:Webarchive</ref>

• Bulgarians: 621 338 (86.8%)
• Turks: 52 499 (7.3%)
• Romani: 30 196 (4.2%)
• Armenians: 3 140 (0.4%)
• Russians: 1 151 (0.2%)
• Greeks: 766 (0.1%)

Religion

Template:Bar box Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:<ref>Template:In lang Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Template:Webarchive</ref>

Census 2001
religious adherence	population	%
Orthodox Christians	608,226	84.97%
Muslims	62,595	8.74%
Roman Catholics	23,122	3.23%
Protestants	3,913	0.55%
Other	4,412	0.62%
Religion not mentioned	13,548	1.89%
total	715,816	100%

Economy

File:Roman-fortress-Hissarya-Walls.jpg

Walls of the Hissarya fortress

The economy of the province is of great importance. The agricultural production is intensive and efficient with high levels of irrigation. The major crops are fruit (apples, plums, pears, cherries), grapes, melons and watermelons, vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cabbage, potatoes), wheat, rice, barley and others. Industry is very well developed: ferrous metallurgy near Plovdiv; thriving electronics industry in Plovdiv, Saedinenie, Voivodinovo, Radinovo and other villages in the area; agricultural machinery (tractors) in Karlovo; weapon and military plants in Sopot, Karlovo, Plovdiv; chemical industry in Plovdiv, Asenovgrad; food industry is developed almost everywhere, most notably in Plovdiv and Asenovgrad (wines). Tourism is a growing industry with the rich cultural heritage of the province and the numerous mineral springs which are of international importance.Template:Cn

See also

• List of villages in Plovdiv Province

External links

• Template:Official Facebook page