Plovdiv Province

42°10′N 24°45′E

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 km^2 (2,306.1 sq mi)
Population  (December 2022)[2]
• Total	631,516
• Density	110/km^2 (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

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

Historical population

Year	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

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

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

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

• 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. "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