Arad County

Arad County
Județul Arad
County

Coat of arms

Location of Arad County in Romania
Coordinates: 46°22′N 21°48′E / 46.36°N 21.8°E / 46.36; 21.8Coordinates: 46°22′N 21°48′E / 46.36°N 21.8°E / 46.36; 21.8
Country  Romania
Development region1 Vest
Historic region Crișana
Capital city (Reședința de județ) Arad
Județul Arad 1968
Government
 • Type County Council
 • President of the County Board Iustin Cionca (PDL)
 • Prefect2 Călin Bibarț
Area
 • Total 7,754 km2 (2,994 sq mi)
Area rank 5th in Romania
Elevation 1,486 m (4,875 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 409,072
 • Rank 21st in Romania
 • Density 53/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code 31wxyz3
Area code(s) +40 x574
Car Plates AR5
GDP US$ 5.24 billion (2008)
GDP/capita US$ 11,337 (2008)
Website County Council
County Prefecture
1 The development regions of Romania have no administrative role and were formed in order to manage funds from the European Union.
2 as of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary. He (or she) is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from having any political activity in the first six months after his resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionaries' corps.
3w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or eaven the building of the address
4x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks
5used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utilitary vehicles and ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county

Arad (Romanian pronunciation: [aˈrad]) is an administrative division (judeţ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative center of the county lies in the city of Arad. The Arad County is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion.

Name

In Hungarian, it is known as Arad megye, in Serbian as Арад / Arad, and in German as Kreis Arad. The county was named after its administrative center, Arad.

Geography

The county has a total area of 7,754 km², representing 3.6% of national Romanian territory. The terrain of Arad County is divided into two distinct units that cover almost half of the county each. The eastern side of the county has a hilly to low mountainous terrain (Dealurile Lipovei, Munții Zărandului, Munții Codru Moma) and on the western side it's a plain zone consisting of the Arad Plain, Low Mures Plain, and The High Vinga Plain. Taking altitude into account we notice that it follows a stepped pattern as it drops as we go from the east to the west of the county from 1489 m to below 100 m. In the east there are the Zarand Mountainsnand the Codru Moma Mountains, all subdivisions of the Apuseni Mountains, a major group of the Western Carpathians.

Neighbours

Climate and precipitation

In terms of climate, the characteristics of Arad county have a typical temperate continental climate with oceanic influences, with a circulation of air masses with a predominantly western ordered direction visible from west to east, with increasing altitude. Average annual temperatures range from 10 °C in the lowlands, the hills and piedmonts 9 °C, 8 °C and 6 °C in the low mountains in the area of greatest height. Average amounts of precipitation fall in values between 565–600 mm annually in the lowlands, 700–800 mm annually in the hills and piedmonts and 800–1200 mm annually in the mountainous area.

Hydrographic network

The hydrographic network is composed of the two main rivers plus their tributaries and channels.

Lakes, ponds and channels

Demographics

In October 31, 2011, it had a population of 409,072 and the population density was 52/km².[1] The main ethnic composition was, as follows:

Year County population[2]
1948 476,207
1956 475,620
1966 481,248
1977 512,020
1992 487,370
2002 461,791
2011 409,072

Economy

Along with Timiș County it forms one of the most developed regions in Romania. Due to its proximity to the border, it attracts a great number of foreign investments. The agricultural potential is greatly put into value, Arad plains being considered one of the most important cereal and vegetable producing basins.

The predominant industries in the county are:

Natural resources in Arad, are worthy to be taken into account as there are oil and associated gases, points of extraction in the west of the county, molibden mines in the Săvârșin area, marble quarries at Căprioara and Moneasa, mineral waters at Lipova, Moneasa, Dorobanți, Curtici, Macea and uranium deposits in the NE part of the county.

Tourism

The main tourist destinations are:

Politics

The Arad County Council, elected at the 2016 local government elections, is made up of 33 counselors, with the following party composition:[3]

    Party Seats Current County Council
  National Liberal Party 16                                
  Social Democratic Party 11                                
  Alliance of Liberals and Democrats 2                                
  People's Movement Party 2                                
  Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 2                                

Administrative divisions

Arad

Arad County has 1 municipality, 9 towns and 68 communes with approximately 180 villages.

Municipalities
Towns
Communes

References

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arad County.
  1. ↑ http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Comunicat_DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011.pdf
  2. ↑ National Institute of Statistics, "Populaţia la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992, 2002 şi 2011"
  3. ↑ "Mandate de CJ pe judete si competitori" (in Romanian). Biroul Electoral Central. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.