The Košice Region ( sk, Košický kraj, , hu, Kassai kerület; uk, Кошицький край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders were established in 1996. It consists of 11 districts (

okres Okres (Czech and Slovak term meaning "district" in English; from German Kreis - circle (or perimeter)) refers to administrative entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is similar to Landkreis in Germany or "''okrug''" in other Slavic-speaki ...

y) and 440 municipalities, 17 of which have a town status. About one third of the region's population lives in the agglomeration of

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

, which is its main economic and cultural centre.

Geography

It is located in the southern part of eastern Slovakia and covers an area of 6,752 km². The western part of the region is composed of the eastern part of the Slovak Ore Mountains, including its subdivisions: Slovak Karst, Slovak Paradise,

Volovské vrchy The Volovec Mountains ( sk, Volovské vrchy, ) is a mountain range in eastern Slovakia, the largest range within the group of Slovak Ore Mountains, which is part of the Inner Western Carpathians. The range is about 70 kilometers by 30 kilomete ...

Čierna hora Black Mountain ( sk, Čierna hora , german: Schwarzer Berg) is a small mountain range in eastern Slovakia. It forms part of the Slovak Ore Mountains. The range is located roughly between the city of Košice to the southeast and the municipalitie ...

. The

Hornád Basin Hornád ( Slovak, ) or Hernád ( Hungarian, ) is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Slaná (Sajo). The source of the Hornád is the eastern slopes of Kráľova hoľa hill, south of Šuňava. ...

is located in the northwest. The area between Slovak Ore Mountains and Slanské vrchy is covered by the Košice Basin, named after the city. The area east of Slanské vrchy is covered by the Eastern Slovak Lowland and there is a volcanic range, Vihorlat Mountains, in the northeast, close to the Ukrainian border. Bigger rivers include Slaná in the southwest, Hornád in the west and centre, Uh and Bodrog in the east, along with a small part of the Tisza river in the extreme southeast. As for administrative divisions, the region borders

Prešov Region The Prešov Region, also Priashiv Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj, ; hu, Eperjesi kerület; uk, Пряшівський край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 o ...

in the north, Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine in the east, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén counties of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

in the south and the Banská Bystrica Region in the west.

Demographics

The average population density in the region is 117.9 inhabitants per km², which is very similar to the country's average (110 per km²). The largest towns are

, Michalovce,

Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; hu, Igló; german: (Zipser) Neu(en)dorf) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the bigges ...

, Trebišov and

Rožňava Rožňava ( hu, Rozsnyó, german: Rosenau, Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňa ...

. According to the 2001 census, there were 766,012 inhabitants in the region, with a majority of

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

(81.8%), but there is a numerous Hungarian minority (11.2%) in the south, and there are minorities of

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 ...

(3.9%) and Czechs (<1%).

Economy

The economy of the Košice region accounted for 11.47% of Slovakia's GDP in 2013, which made it the region with the second highest GDP in Slovakia after the Bratislava region. However, it lags behind the majority of Slovakia's regions in GDP per capita.http://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/wcm/connect/6241078f-62cf-4c5a-ac78-35e4b73dc550/Regionalny_hruby_domaci_produkt_1995_2013_revidovane.pdf?MOD=AJPERES The salaries are on average 40% higher in the Bratislava region than in the Košice region, but the living costs are considerably higher there as well. The unemployment in the region was at 15.6% in 2014.Bratislavský vs. Košický kraj
Retrieved 29 April 2015

Politics

Current governor of Košice region is Rastislav Trnka ( Independent). He won with 37,8 %. In election 2017 was elected also regional parliament :

Administrative division

The Košice Region consists of 11 districts. In Košice city itself there are four districts; seven districts are outside the city. There are 440 municipalities, of which 17 are towns.

References

External links

Košický samosprávny kraj
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosice Region Regions of Slovakia