Plovdiv Province

Province in southern Bulgaria

42°10′N 24°45′E﻿ / ﻿42.167°N 24.750°E﻿ / 42.167; 24.750

Province in Bulgaria

Plovdiv Province

Област Пловдив

Province

Red Wall Reserve

Flag

Location of Plovdiv Province in Bulgaria

Country| Bulgaria
Capital| Plovdiv
Municipalities| 18
Government

• Governor| Iliya Zyumbilev
Area

[1]

• Total

| 5,972.9 km2 (2,306.1 sq mi)
Population

(December 2022)[2]

• Total

| 631,516
• Density| 110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+3 (EEST)
License plate| PB
Website| pd.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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Historical populationYear| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1946| 515,887| —
1956| 564,910| +9.5%
1965| 647,653| +14.6%
1975| 725,452| +12.0%
1985| 760,076| +4.8%
1992| 739,694| −2.7%
2001| 715,816| −3.2%
2011| 683,027| −4.6%
2021| 634,497| −7.1%
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

### Ethnic groups

[edit]

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[13]
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[14] 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):[15]

* 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

[edit]

Religions in Plovdiv Province (2011 census)[16]

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:[17]

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

[edit]

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.[citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

* List of villages in Plovdiv Province

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 Archived January 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ a b c d WebDesign Ltd. www.webdesign-bg.eu. "Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009". Nsi.bg. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
3. ^ a b c "Bulgaria (Major Cities): Districts, Major Cities & Towns - Statistics & Maps on City Population". Citypopulation.de. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
4. ^ a b "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. ^ "Divisions of Bulgaria". 2024-04-03.
11. ^ (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
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute
14. ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
15. ^ (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
16. ^ "Religious composition: 2011 census". pop-stat.mashke.org. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
17. ^ (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Archived 2010-09-07 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

[edit]

* Plovdiv Province on Facebook

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