Plovdiv Oblast

Plovdiv Oblast  Област Пловдив
Oblast (Province)
View of the Rhodopes near the village of Vrata in the south of the province
Location of Plovdiv Oblast in Bulgaria
Country	Bulgaria
Oblast capital	Plovdiv
Obshtinas (Communes)	Asenovgrad, Brezovo, Hisarya, Kaloyanovo, Karlovo, Krichim, Kuklen, Laki, Maritsa, Perushtitsa, Plovdiv, Parvomay, Rakovski, Rodopi, Sadovo, Sopot, Stamboliyski, Saedinenie
Area
• Total	5,972.9 km2 (2,306.1 sq mi)

Plovdiv Oblast (Province) (Bulgarian: Област Пловдив - Oblast Plovdiv, former name Plovdiv okrug) is a Oblast in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, obshtini, sing. общинa, obshtina) on a territory of 5,972.9 km² with a total population, as of December 2009, of 701,684 inhabitants. The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Plovdiv.

Geography

It includes parts of the Upper Thracian Plain, the Rhodopes, 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 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.

Obshtinas

Obshtinas of Plovdiv Oblast

The Plovdiv province (Област, oblast) contains 18 obshtinas (communes) (singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each Obshtina in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.

Obshtina (Commune)	Cyrillic	Pop.	Town/Village	Pop.
Asenovgrad	Асеновград	65,222	Asenovgrad	51,499
Brezovo	Брезово	7,943	Brezovo	1,886
Hisarya	Хисаря	13,113	Hisarya	7,410
Kaloyanovo	Калояново	12,402	Kaloyanovo	2,417
Karlovo	Карлово	3,281,107	Karlovo	624,132
Krichim	Кричим	8,590	Krichim	8,590
Kuklen	Куклен	6,540	Kuklen	5,896
Laki	Лъки	3,387	Laki	2,491
Maritsa (Plovdiv rural)	Марица	31,447	Plovdiv	see below
Perushtitsa	Перущица	5,194	Perushtitsa	5,194
Plovdiv (city)	Пловдив	348,465	Plovdiv	348,465
Parvomay	Първомай	27,813	Parvomay	13,984
Rakovski	Раковски	26,683	Rakovski	15,265
Rodopi (Plovdiv rural)	Родопи	32,286	Plovdiv	see above
Sadovo	Садово	15,714	Sadovo	2,507
Sopot	Сопот	10,354	Sopot	9,299
Stamboliyski	Стамболийски	20,879	Stamboliyski	11,721
Saedinenie	Съединение	11,193	Saedinenie	6,050

Towns

The oblast'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, Yiagodovo.

Demography

Plovdiv Oblast had a population of 715,904 (715,816 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which 48.4% were male and 51.6% were female. As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 701,684 of which 24.1% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.

The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II: Template:Table BG Region population

Religion

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:

Census 2001
religious adherence	population	%
Orthodox Christians	608,226	84.97%
Muslims	62,595	8.74%
Roman Catholics	23,122	3.23%
Protestants	3,913	0.55%
Other	4,412	0.62%
Religion not mentioned	13,548	1.89%
total	715,816	100%

Economy

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 (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

• Oblasts of Bulgaria
• Obshtinas of Bulgaria
• List of villages in Plovdiv Oblast