Plovdiv Province (: 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 Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 with a population, as of February 2011, of 683,027 inhabitants. The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the city of Plovdiv.

Geography 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 (2,376 m). The main rivers in the province are Maritsa, Vacha, Stryama, Pyasachnik. There are numerous reservoirs, the most important of which are Pyasachnik and Krichim. 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

Plovdiv Province (Област, oblast) contains 18 municipalitiesOblast Haskovo -official website (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. Town/Village Pop. 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 and Laki.

Demographics Plovdiv Province had a population of 715,904 (715,816 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which were male and were female. Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 As of the end of 2009, the population, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 701,684 of which are over 60 years of age.

Ethnic groups

Total population (2011 census): 683 027 Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute Ethnic groups (2011 census):Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute 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): Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 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

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census: Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Census 2001 religious adherence population % Orthodox Christians 608,226 84.97% Muslims 62,5958.74% Roman Catholics 23,1223.23% Protestants 3,9130.55% Other 4,412 0.62% Religion not mentioned 13,548 1.89% total 715,816 100%

Economy

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

External links