Sofia Province

Coordinates: 42°40′N 23°40′E / 42.667°N 23.667°E / 42.667; 23.667

Sofia Province
Софийска област
Province

Location of Sofia Province in Bulgaria
Country Bulgaria
Capital Sofia
Municipalities 22
Government
 • Governor Krasimir Zhivkov
Area
 • Total 7,059 km2 (2,725 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 247,489
 • Density 35/km2 (91/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
License plate CO

Sofia Province (Bulgarian: Софийска област, Sofiyska oblast) is a province (oblast) of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains its administrative center. The province 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

The province's territory is 7 059 km² and has 247,489 inhabitants according to the 2011 Bulgarian Census. 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.

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.

Municipalities

Municipalities of Sofia province

The Sofia province (Област, oblast) contains 22 municipalities (singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of 2009.

Municipality 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

Population

The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II:

Sofia Province
Year 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011
Population 319,045 313,906 306,913 310,975 305,358 289,962 273,240 262,032 258,397 253,010 247,489
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[2] „Census 2001“,[3] „Census 2011“,[4] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,??

The province 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]

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Sofia Province (2011 census)
Ethnic group Percentage
Bulgarians
  
 91.4%
Roma
  
 7.4%
others and indefinable
  
 1.2%

Total population (2011 census): 247 489

Ethnic groups (2011 census):[6] Identified themselves: 230 781 persons:

Ethnic groups in the province according to 2001 census:[7] 253 536 Bulgarians (92.8%),
16 748 Roma (Gypsy) (6.1%) and 2956 others and unspecified (1.1%).

Religion

Religions in Sofia Province (2001 census)
Religious group Percentage
Orthodox Christian
  
 95.9%
Muslim
  
 1.2%
Protestant Christian
  
 0.8%
Roman Catholic Christian
  
 0.1%
others and indefinable
  
 2.0%

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:[8]

Census 2001
religious adherence population %
Orthodox Christians 261 996 95.9%
Muslims 3 368 1.2%
Protestants 2 320 0.8%
Roman Catholics 186 0.1%
Other 1027 0.4%
Religion not mentioned 4 343 1.6%
total 273,240 100%

References

  1. 1 2 (in Bulgarian) Population Chart as of 15 March 2009 from Directorate General: Civil Registration and Administrative Services
  2. ↑ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
  3. ↑ (in English) „WorldCityPopulation“
  4. ↑ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  5. ↑ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
  6. ↑ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
  7. ↑ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
  8. ↑ (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001

See also

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