Plovdiv Province ( bg, Област Пловдив: ''Oblast Plovdiv'', former name Plovdiv okrug) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in central southern

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 ...

. 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 Upper Thracian Plain ( bg, Горнотракийска низина, ''Gornotrakiyska nizina'') constitutes the northern part of the historical region of Thrace. It is located in southern Bulgaria, between Sredna Gora mountains to the north ...

, the

Rhodopes The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( bg, Средна гора ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. 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 resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and ...

s — Hisarya, Narechen,

Banya Banya may refer to: Places Australia * Banya, Queensland, a locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia Bulgaria * Banya, Blagoevgrad Province, a thermal spa and mountain resort in southwest Bulgaria * Banya, Burgas P ...

and minor spas at Klisura,

Asenovgrad Asenovgrad ( bg, Асеновград ) is a town in central southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province. It is the largest town in Bulgaria that is not a province center. Previously known as ''Stanimaka'' (; el, Στενήμαχος), it was ...

, Kuklen, Rosino, Krasnovo, Stoletovo and others. There are many natural landmarks, especially in the

Central Balkan National Park The Central Balkan National Park ( bg, Национален парк Централен Балкан) lies in the heart of Bulgaria, nestled in the central and higher portions of the Balkan Mountains. Its altitude varies from 550 m. near the town ...

, including the spectacular waterfall Raysko Praskalo, the highest in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Municipalities

Plovdiv Province (Област, ''oblast'') contains 18 municipalities (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.

Towns

The province's capital is the city of Plovdiv; other towns include

Karlovo Karlovo ( bg, Карлово ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a ...

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...

, Klisura,

Kalofer Kalofer ( ) is a town in central Bulgaria, located on the banks of the Tundzha between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south. Kalofer is part of Plovdiv Province and the Karlovo municipality. It is best known as th ...

, Hisarya, Saedinenie, Rakovski,

Brezovo Brezovo ( bg, Брезово ) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in Plovdiv oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, ...

, Stamboliyski,

Krichim Krichim ( bg, Кричим ) is a town in Bulgaria, located in the southwestern part of Plovdiv Province close to Perushtitsa. It lies at the foot of the Rhodopes' northern slopes in the plains of Thrace, 20 km southwest of Plovdiv. The rive ...

Perushtitsa Perushtitsa ( bg, Перущица ) or Perushtitza is a Bulgarian town located in Perushtitsa Municipality, Plovdiv Province at the foot of the Rhodopes, 22 kilometers south of Plovdiv. The name ''Perushtitsa'' comes from the word ''Peristits ...

, Sadovo, Parvomay,

Laki Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly ...

, Katunica, and Yiagodovo.

Population

Plovdiv Province had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 715,904 (715,816 also given) according to a 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, of which were

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

and were

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

.Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex
fro

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. The following table represents the change of the population in the province after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Ethnic groups

Total population (2011 census): 683 027
Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 620 373 persons: *

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 unders ...

: 540 303 (87,09%) *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

: 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
fro

*

: 621 338 (86.8%) *

: 52 499 (7.3%) * Romani: 30 196 (4.2%) *

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

: 3 140 (0.4%) *

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

: 1 151 (0.2%) *

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

: 766 (0.1%)

Religion

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001

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

; weapon and military plants in

, Plovdiv; chemical industry in Plovdiv,

; food industry is developed almost everywhere, most notably in Plovdiv and

(wines). Tourism is a growing industry with the rich cultural heritage of the province and the numerous

mineral springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

which are of international importance.

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Bulgaria