Plovdiv Province


Plovdiv Province is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities on a territory of 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.
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Geography

[Image:SeloVrata.jpg|left|thumb|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. 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

[Image:Plovdiv Oblast map.png|thumb|260px|Municipalities of Plovdiv province]
Plovdiv Province contains 18 municipalities. The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village, and the population of each as of 31st December 2024.
MunicipalityCyrillicPop.Town/VillagePop.
AsenovgradАсеновград56,859Asenovgrad45,362
BrezovoБрезово5,877Brezovo1,527
HisaryaХисаря9,952Hisarya5,888
KaloyanovoКалояново10,231Kaloyanovo2,186
KarlovoКарлово44,894Karlovo18,803
KrichimКричим7,128Krichim7,128
KuklenКуклен6,134Kuklen5,559
LakiЛъки2,043Laki1,502
Maritsa Марица31,191Plovdivsee below
PerushtitsaПерущица4,148Perushtitsa4,148
Plovdiv Пловдив329,489Plovdiv329,489
ParvomayПървомай20,757Parvomay10,973
RakovskiРаковски25,389Rakovski14,718
Rodopi Родопи32,359Plovdivsee above
SadovoСадово14,528Sadovo2,339
SopotСопот8,139Sopot7,238
StamboliyskiСтамболийски17,654Stamboliyski9,723
SaedinenieСъединение8,858Saedinenie4,917

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, Laki, Katunica, and Yiagodovo.

Demographics

Plovdiv Province had a population of 715,904 according to a 2001 census, of which were male and were female.
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 : 683 027

Ethnic groups :
Identified themselves: 620 373 persons:
  • Bulgarians: 540 303
  • Turks: 40 255
  • Romani: 30 202
  • Others and indefinable: 9 613
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 :

Religion

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:

Economy

[Image:Roman-fortress-Hissarya-Walls.jpg|left|thumb|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, grapes, melons and watermelons, vegetables, 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 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. Tourism is a growing industry with the rich cultural heritage of the province and the numerous mineral springs which are of international importance.