Sofia Oblast
Софийска област | |
|---|---|
|
Oblast (Province) | |
 Memorial House of Todor Kableshkov in Koprivshtitsa | |
 Location of Sofia Oblast in Bulgaria | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Oblast capital | Sofia |
| Obshtinas (Communes) | Anton, Botevgrad, Bozhurishte, Chavdar, Chelopech, Dolna Banya, Dragoman, Elin Pelin, Etropole, Godech, Gorna Malina, Ihtiman, Koprivshtitsa, Kostenets, Kostinbrod, Mirkovo, Pirdop, Pravets, Samokov, Slivnitsa, Svoge, Zlatitsa |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Krasimir Zhivkov |
| Area | |
• Total |
7,059 km2 (2,725 sq mi) |
Sofia Oblast (Province) (Bulgarian: Софийска област, Sofiyska oblast) is a province (oblast) of Bulgaria. The oblast does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia however remains its administrative center. The oblast borders on the provinces of Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Lovech, Vratsa, Montana and "Sofia-Capital" (which is in a separate oblast, see Sofia Administration), to the northwest there is border with Serbia.
A waterfall near the village of Kostenets
Sofia Oblast has a territory of 7 059 km² and has 254,996 inhabitants. The land is predominantly mountainous. To the north are the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains and to the south rises Rila with the highest point in the peninsula Musala. There are also several smaller mountains and spacious valleys. One of the most important ski resorts in Bulgaria, Borovets, is located here close to Samokov.
Obshtinas of Sofia province
Industry is well developed. Mining and ferrous metallurgy are the backbone of the economy with the largest copper refinery in South Eastern Europe in Pirdop and important copper mines at Chelopech and Etropole. Machinery is well developed in Botevgrad (buses, car components, electronics), Pravets (computers), Etropole, Samokov, Elin Pelin, Ihtiman, Slivnitsa, Godech. The centre of food and sugar industry is Svoge. This is also the birthplace of bass/baritone opera singer and musician Boris Damianov.
Obshtinas[]
Sofia Oblast (Област, province) contains 22 obshtinas (communes) (singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each obshtina in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of 2009.
| Obshtina (Commune) | Cyrillic | Pop.[1] | Town/Village | Pop.[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anton | Антон | 1,650 | Anton | 1,650 |
| Botevgrad | Ботевград | 36,183 | Botevgrad | 23,694 |
| Bozhurishte | Божурище | 6,735 | Bozhurishte | 4,829 |
| Chavdar | Чавдар | 1,252 | Chavdar | 1,252 |
| Chelopech | Челопеч | 1,571 | Chelopech | 1,571 |
| Dolna Banya | Долна баня | 4,917 | Dolna Banya | 4,917 |
| Dragoman | Драгоман | 5,373 | Dragoman | 3,541 |
| Elin Pelin | Елин Пелин | 22,015 | Elin Pelin | 7,293 |
| Etropole | Етрополе | 13,773 | Etropole | 12,078 |
| Godech | Годеч | 5,670 | Godech | 4,783 |
| Gorna Malina | Горна Малина | 5,668 | Gorna Malina | 1,357 |
| Ihtiman | Ихтиман | 18,903 | Ihtiman | 14,571 |
| Koprivshtitsa | Копривщица | 2,547 | Koprivshtitsa | 2,547 |
| Kostenets | Костенец | 14,154 | Kostenets | 7,762 |
| Kostinbrod | Костинброд | 16,145 | Kostinbrod | 11,523 |
| Mirkovo | Мирково | 2,534 | Mirkovo | 1,707 |
| Pirdop | Пирдоп | 9,217 | Pirdop | 8,361 |
| Pravets | Правец | 7,919 | Pravets | 4,440 |
| Samokov | Самоков | 41,544 | Samokov | 30,085 |
| Slivnitsa | Сливница | 9,511 | Slivnitsa | 7,790 |
| Svoge | Своге | 22,557 | Svoge | 8,741 |
| Zlatitsa | Златица | 6,274 | Zlatitsa | 5,529 |
Demography[]
The following table represents the change of the population in the oblast after World War II:
| Sofia Oblast | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1946 | 1956 | 1965 | 1975 | 1985 | 1992 | 2001 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 |
| Population | 319,045 | 313,906 | 306,913 | 310,975 | 305,358 | 289,962 | 273,240 | 262,032 | 258,397 | 253,010 | 246,668 |
| Sources: National Statistical Institute,[2] „Census 2001“,[3] „Census 2011“,[4] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,?? | |||||||||||
Sofia Oblast had a population of 273 252 (also given as 273,240) according to a 2001 census, of which 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female.[5]
Religion[]
Religious adherence in the oblast according to 2001 census:[6]
| Census 2001 | ||
|---|---|---|
| religious adherence | population | % |
| Orthodox Christians | 261 996 | 95.9% |
| Muslims | 3 368 | 1.2% |
| Roman Catholics | 186 | 0.1% |
| Protestants | 2 320 | 0.8% |
| Other | 1027 | 0.4% |
| Religion not mentioned | 4 343 | 1.6% |
| total | 273,240 | 100% |
Ethnic groups[]
Ethnic groups in the oblast according to 2001 census:[7]
253 536 Bulgarians (92.8%),
16 748 Roma (Gypsy) (6.1%)
and 2956 others and unspecified (1.1%).
References[]
- ^ a b (Bulgarian) Population Chart as of 15 March 2009 from Directorate General: Civil Registration and Administrative Services
- ^ (English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
- ^ (English) „WorldCityPopulation“
- ^ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
- ^ (Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
- ^ (Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001
- ^ (Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
See also[]
- Oblasts of Bulgaria
- Obshtinas of Bulgaria
- List of cities and towns in Bulgaria
- List of villages in Sofia Oblast
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| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Sofia Oblast. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |