The Pčinja District ( sr, Пчињски округ, Pčinjski okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of

Southern and Eastern Serbia The Southern and Eastern Serbia ( sr, Јужна и источна Србија, Južna i istočna Srbija) is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. It is also a level-2 statistical region according to the European NUTS. It was formed in 201 ...

. It covers the southern part of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, bordering the disputed territory of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

, along with

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. Its administrative center is the city of

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. The municipality of Vranje has a population of 83,524 and its urban area has 60,485 inhabitants. Vranje is the economical, poli ...

. According to the 2011 census, the district has a population of 159,081. Due to an Albanian

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict so ...

, the actual population is likely greater than is stated in the official statistics. One estimate suggests between 20,000–50,000 more people than recorded live in the district. The

Vranjska Banja The City municipality of Vranjska Banja ( sr-cyrl, Градска општина Врањска Бања, Gradska opština Vranjska Banja) is a town and one of two city municipalities which constitute the City of Vranje. It is also one of the spa ...

spa plays a part in this region, with its multi-medicinal thermal mineral waters.

Municipalities

It encompasses the municipalities of: * Vladičin Han * Surdulica * Bosilegrad * Trgovište *

Bujanovac Bujanovac ( sr-cyr, Бујановац, ; sq, Bujanoc) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. Situated in the South Morava basin, it is located in the geographical area known as Preševo Valley. It is ...

Preševo Preševo ( sr-cyrl, Прешево; sq, Preshevë, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. It is the southernmost town in Central Serbia and largest in the geographical region of Preševo Valley. Prešev ...

Culture and history

The ancient Paeonian tribe of the Agrianians ruled the region in antiquity. Cultural-historic monuments date back from over five centuries ago. The earliest military fortification, Marko's Fortress, was established in the 13th century. Also famous are the ancient Turkish public baths from the 16th century and the Pasha's House from 1765, in which a grammar school was opened in 1882. In 2001, uprisings by Albanians occurred in the Albanian-majority municipalities of

and

. In addition, reports emerged in 2006 that the municipality of Trgovište had threatened to secede itself to

, which was noteworthy because it has a majority Serb population. Representatives cited economic hardship and a declining population as grievances against Serbia’s government."Lost in Shuffle, Serb Town Sees Future in Macedonia." New York Times, April 25, 2006.
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Demographics

Ethnic composition

;1992 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

= 60.4% *

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

= 26.5% *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

= 5.7% *

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...

= 4.4% * Others = 3% ;2002 *

= 147,046 (64.58%) *

= 54,795 (24.07%) *

= 12,073 (5.3%) *

= 8,491 (3.73%) * Others = 5,285 (2.32%) ;2011 *

= 132,601 (83,35%) *

= 13,826 (8.69%) *

= 7,287 (4.58%) *

= 680 (0.43%) * Others

Notes

References

* Note: ''All official material made by the Government of Serbia is public by law. Information was taken from th
official website
'.

External links

* {{Authority control Districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia