Stara Zagora Province
Template:Short description Template:Coord Template:Infobox settlement Stara Zagora (Template:Langx), formerly known as the Stara Zagora okrug, is a province of south-central Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Stara Zagora—the sixth-biggest town in the country. The province embraces a territory of Template:Cvt<ref name="phare">Template:In lang Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 Template:Webarchive</ref> that is divided into 11 municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 350,925 inhabitants.<ref name="divisions">Template:In lang Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009</ref><ref name="population">Template:In lang „WorldCityPopulation“</ref><ref name="pop-stat-divisions">„pop-stat.mashke.org“</ref>
In the southeastern part of the province on the edge of Radnevo Municipality there is a coal production facility. Between 1934 and 1949, the province included parts of the present Kardzhali Province.<ref>http://www.visittobulgaria.com/visit/dir.asp?d=0-8-Ardino History of Ardino</ref>
Municipalities
The Stara Zagora province (област, oblast) contains 11 municipalities (Template:Langx - plural: Template:Lang, Template:Transliteration). 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 December 2009.
| Municipality | Cyrillic | Pop.<ref name="divisions"/><ref name="population"/><ref name="pop-stat-divisions"/> | Town/Village | Pop.<ref name="population"/><ref name="statistika">Template:In lang Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009</ref><ref name="pop-stat">„pop-stat.mashke.org“</ref><ref name="villages under 1000">Template:In lang Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Bulgarian villages under 1000 inhabitants – December 2009</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bratya | Братя Даскалови | 9,724 | Bratya Daskalovi | 750 |
| Chirpan | Чирпан | 23,470 | Chirpan | 16,355 |
| Gurkovo | Гурково | 5,273 | Gurkovo | 2,917 |
| Galabovo | Гълъбово | 14,269 | Galabovo | 8,404 |
| Kazanlak | Казанлък | 76,447 | Kazanlak | 49,506 |
| Maglizh | Мъглиж | 12,267 | Maglizh | 3,426 |
| Nikolaevo | Николаево | 4,840 | Nikolaevo | 2,872 |
| Opan | Опан | 3,501 | Opan | 466 |
| Pavel Banya | Павел баня | 14,703 | Pavel Banya | 2,918 |
| Radnevo | Раднево | 21,959 | Radnevo | 13,384 |
| Stara Zagora | Стара Загора | 164,472 | Stara Zagora | 140,456 |
Demographics
Template:Historical populationsThe Stara Zagora province had a population of 370,665 (370,615 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 from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001</ref>
As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 350,925<ref name="divisions" /> of which Template:Pct are inhabitants aged over 60 years.<ref name="NSI age">Template:In lang Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009 Template:Webarchive</ref>
Ethnic groups
Template:Bar box According to the most recent 2011 census, out of the 333,265<ref>Template:In lang Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute</ref> people, 308,106<ref>Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute Template:In lang</ref> identified themselves:
- Bulgarians: 265,618 (86.21%)
- Romani: 24,018 (7.80%)
- Turks in Bulgaria: 15,035 (4.88%)
- Others and indefinable: 3,435 (1.11%)
A further 25,000 persons in the Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.
Ethnic groups according to the 2001 census, when 370,615 people of the population of 370,665 of Stara Zagora 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</ref>
Religion
Template:Bar box Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:<ref>Template:In lang Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001</ref>
| Census 2001 | ||
|---|---|---|
| religious adherence | population | % |
| Orthodox Christians | 329,628 | 88.94% |
| Muslims | 21,423 | 5.78% |
| Protestants | 4,094 | 1.10% |
| Catholics | 522 | 0.14% |
| Other | 1558 | 0.42% |
| Religion not mentioned | 13,390 | 3.62% |
| Total | 370,615 | 100% |
Main city
Stara Zagora is a cultural centre of particular significance for Bulgaria as it is an ancient Thracian, subsequently Greek, Roman and Byzantine metropolis. The oldest Neolithic remains were found in Stara Zagora. The famous film of BBC The History of Europe starts with the Neolithic museum in Stara Zagora. It shows the remains of the first homes of the people in Europe. Stara Zagora is one of the oldest cities in Europe.Template:Citation needed
In October 2004, Stara Zagora Province was awarded for having the best quality of life in Europe,Template:Citation needed together with Greater Zürich (Switzerland), and ahead of Andalucia (Spain), and Flanders (Belgium). The award was given by fDi Magazine, produced by the renowned Financial Times Group, for the region's low-cost, newly built accommodation and rich cultural heritage.
In November 2014 the Maritsa Iztok-2 power station located in the East of Stara Zgora Province was ranked as the industrial facility that is causing the highest damage costs to health and the environment in Bulgaria and the entire European Union by the European Environment Agency.<ref name=EEA>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Template:Official Facebook page
- stara zagora news
- Stara Zagora Province — the best quality of life in Europe
Template:Provinces of Bulgaria Template:Bulgaria topics Template:Authority control