Plovdiv Province

42°10′N 24°45′E

Plovdiv Province
Област Пловдив
Province
Red Wall Reserve
Red Wall Reserve
Flag of Plovdiv Province
Flag
Location of Plovdiv Province in Bulgaria
Location of Plovdiv Province in Bulgaria
CountryBulgaria
CapitalPlovdiv
Municipalities18
Government
 • GovernorZdravko Dimitrov
Area
[1]
 • Total5,972.9 km2 (2,306.1 sq mi)
Population
 (December 2022)[2]
 • Total631,516
 • Density110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
License platePB
Websitepd.government.bg

Plovdiv Province (Bulgarian: Област Пловдив: 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 5,972.9 km2 (2,306.1 sq mi)[1] with a population, as of February 2011, of 683,027 inhabitants.[2][3][4] The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the city of Plovdiv.

Geography
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
Municipalities of Plovdiv province

Plovdiv Province (Област, oblast) contains 18 municipalities[5] (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 December 2009.

Municipality Cyrillic Pop.[2][3][4] Town/Village Pop.[3][6][7][8][9]
Asenovgrad Асеновград 65,222 Asenovgrad 51,499
Brezovo Брезово 7,943 Brezovo 1,886
Hisarya Хисаря 13,113 Hisarya 7,410
Kaloyanovo Калояново 12,402 Kaloyanovo 2,417
Karlovo Карлово 54,925 Karlovo 25,149
Krichim Кричим 8,590 Krichim 8,590
Kuklen Куклен 6,540 Kuklen 5,896
Laki Лъки 3,387 Laki 2,491
Maritsa (Plovdiv rural) Марица 31,447 Plovdiv see below
Perushtitsa Перущица 5,194 Perushtitsa 5,194
Plovdiv (city) Пловдив 348,465 Plovdiv 348,465
Parvomay Първомай 27,813 Parvomay 13,984
Rakovski Раковски 26,683 Rakovski 15,265
Rodopi (Plovdiv rural) Родопи 32,286 Plovdiv see above
Sadovo Садово 15,714 Sadovo 2,507
Sopot Сопот 10,354 Sopot 9,299
Stamboliyski Стамболийски 20,879 Stamboliyski 11,721
Saedinenie Съединение 11,193 Saedinenie 6,050

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

Plovdiv Province had a population of 715,904 (715,816 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which 48.4% were male and 51.6% were female.[10] As of the end of 2009, the population, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 701,684[2] of which 24.1% are over 60 years of age.[11]

The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II:

Plovdiv Province
Year 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011
Population 515,887 564,910 647,653 725,452 760,076 734,495 715,904 707,570 705,121 701,684 683,027
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[2] „Census 2001“,[3] „Census 2011“,[4] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,??

Ethnic groups
Ethnic groups in Plovdiv Province (2011 census)
Ethnic group Percentage
Bulgarians
 
 87.1%
Turks
 
 6.5%
Romani
 
 4.9%
others and indefinable
 
 1.5%

Total population (2011 census): 683 027[12]
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[13] 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):[14]

Religion
Religions in Plovdiv Province (2011 census)[15]
Religious group Percentage
Orthodox Christian
 
 62.67%
Muslim
 
 5.3%
Roman Catholic Christian
 
 2.85%
Protestant Christian
 
 0.9%
others and indefinable
 
 28.23%

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:[16]

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
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.

See also
  • List of villages in Plovdiv Province

References
  1. Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 Archived January 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. WebDesign Ltd. www.webdesign-bg.eu. "Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009". Nsi.bg. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  3. "Bulgaria (Major Cities): Districts, Major Cities & Towns - Statistics & Maps on City Population". Citypopulation.de. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  4. "Division of Bulgaria". Pop-stat.mashke.org. 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  5. Oblast Haskovo -official website Archived June 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. WebDesign Ltd. www.webdesign-bg.eu. "Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009". Nsi.bg. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  7. "Cities of Bulgaria". Pop-stat.mashke.org. 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  8. "Bulgarian Settlements less than 1000 inhabitants – December 2009". Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  9. "Bulgarian Settlements 1000–5000 inhabitants – December 2009". Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  10. (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex Archived 2019-03-22 at the Wayback Machine from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  11. WebDesign Ltd. www.webdesign-bg.eu. "Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009". Nsi.bg. Archived from the original on 2012-05-13. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  12. (in Bulgarian) Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute
  13. Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
  14. (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Religious composition: 2011 census". pop-stat.mashke.org. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  16. (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Archived 2010-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
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