Stara Zagora Province

42°25′N 25°30′E / 42.417°N 25.500°E / 42.417; 25.500

Stara Zagora Province
Област Стара Загора
Province
Buzludzha Monument
Buzludzha Monument
Flag of Stara Zagora Province
Flag
Location of Stara Zagora Province in Bulgaria
Location of Stara Zagora Province in Bulgaria
CountryBulgaria
CapitalStara Zagora
Municipalities11
Government
 • GovernorGergana Mikova
Area
[1]
 • Total
5,151.5 km2 (1,989.0 sq mi)
Population
 (December 2022)[2]
 • Total
291,852
 • Density57/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
License plateCT
Websitesz.government.bg

Stara Zagora (Bulgarian: Област Стара Загора), formerly known as the Stara Zagora okrug, is a province of south-central Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Stara Zagora—the sixth-biggest town in the country. The province embraces a territory of 5,151.1 km2 (1,988.9 sq mi)[1] that is divided into 11 municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 350,925 inhabitants.[2][3][4]

In the southeastern part of the province on the edge of Radnevo Municipality there is a coal production facility. Between 1934 and 1949, the province included parts of the present Kardzhali Province.[5]

Municipalities

Map of Stara Zagora Province

The Stara Zagora province (област, oblast) contains 11 municipalities (Bulgarian: община, romanized: obshtina - plural: общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.

Municipality Cyrillic Pop.[2][3][4] Town/Village Pop.[3][6][7][8]
Bratya Братя Даскалови 9,724 Bratya Daskalovi 750
Chirpan Чирпан 23,470 Chirpan 16,355
Gurkovo Гурково 5,273 Gurkovo 2,917
Galabovo Гълъбово 14,269 Galabovo 8,404
Kazanlak Казанлък 76,447 Kazanlak 49,506
Maglizh Мъглиж 12,267 Maglizh 3,426
Nikolaevo Николаево 4,840 Nikolaevo 2,872
Opan Опан 3,501 Opan 466
Pavel Banya Павел баня 14,703 Pavel Banya 2,918
Radnevo Раднево 21,959 Radnevo 13,384
Stara Zagora Стара Загора 164,472 Stara Zagora 140,456

Demographics

Shipka Memorial Church
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1946306,181—    
1956322,252+5.2%
1965359,486+11.6%
1975394,607+9.8%
1985410,905+4.1%
1992397,339−3.3%
2001370,615−6.7%
2011333,265−10.1%
2021296,507−11.0%
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org[9]

The Stara Zagora province had a population of 370,665 (370,615 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which 48.9% were male and 51.1% were female.[10]

As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 350,925[2] of which 25.2% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.[11]

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Stara Zagora Province Province (2011 census)
Ethnic group Percentage
Bulgarians
 
 86.2%
Romani
 
 7.8%
Turks
 
 4.9%
others and indefinable
 
 1.1%

According to the most recent 2011 census, out of the 333,265[12] people, 308,106[13] identified themselves:

A further 25,000 persons in the Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Ethnic groups according to the 2001 census, when 370,615 people of the population of 370,665 of Stara Zagora Province identified themselves (with percentage of total population):[14]

Religion

Religions in Stara Zagora Province (2011 census)[15]
Religious group Percentage
Orthodox Christians
 
 63.14%
Muslim
 
 3.5%
Protestant Christian
 
 1.64%
Roman Catholic Christian
 
 0.3%
others and indefinable
 
 31.38%

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:[16]

Census 2001
religious adherence population %
Orthodox Christians 329,628 88.94%
Muslims 21,423 5.78%
Protestants 4,094 1.10%
Catholics 522 0.14%
Other 1558 0.42%
Religion not mentioned 13,390 3.62%
Total 370,615 100%

Main city

Stara Zagora is a cultural centre of particular significance for Bulgaria as it is an ancient Thracian, subsequently Greek, Roman and Byzantine metropolis. The oldest Neolithic remains were found in Stara Zagora. The famous film of BBC The History of Europe starts with the Neolithic museum in Stara Zagora. It shows the remains of the first homes of the people in Europe. Stara Zagora is one of the oldest cities in Europe.[citation needed]

In October 2004, Stara Zagora Province was awarded for having the best quality of life in Europe,[citation needed] together with Greater Zürich (Switzerland), and ahead of Andalucia (Spain), and Flanders (Belgium). The award was given by fDi Magazine, produced by the renowned Financial Times Group, for the region's low-cost, newly built accommodation and rich cultural heritage.

In November 2014 the Maritsa Iztok-2 power station located in the East of Stara Zgora Province was ranked as the industrial facility that is causing the highest damage costs to health and the environment in Bulgaria and the entire European Union by the European Environment Agency.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b (in English) Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 Archived 2011-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
  3. ^ a b c (in English) „WorldCityPopulation“
  4. ^ a b „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  5. ^ http://www.visittobulgaria.com/visit/dir.asp?d=0-8-Ardino History of Ardino
  6. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
  7. ^ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  8. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Bulgarian villages under 1000 inhabitants – December 2009
  9. ^ "Divisions of Bulgaria". 2024-04-03.
  10. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
  11. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009 Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute
  13. ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
  14. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
  15. ^ ""Religious composition: 2011 census"". pop-stat.mashke.org. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  16. ^ (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001
  17. ^ "Industrial facilities causing the highest damage costs to health and the environment". European Environment Agency. Retrieved 25 November 2014.