Velingrad Municipality

Velingrad Municipality
Map
Country Bulgaria
ProvincePazardzhik Province
Population
 • Total
40,595

Velingrad Municipality (Bulgarian: Община Велинград) is the largest municipality in Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria. The municipality consists of its capital, Velingrad as well as 2 villages, with a total population of 40,595.[1]

The municipality of Velingrad is mostly inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians, which are Orthodox and Muslim (Pomaks) by religion.

Demographic situation

The municipality of Velingrad has relatively favourable demographic indicators compared with the rest of Bulgaria. Nevertheless, the number of births dropped sharply while the number of deaths remained fairly constant. This led to a negative natural growth rate.

Population Live births Deaths Natural growth Birth rate (‰) Death rate (‰) Natural growth rate (‰)
2000 43,591 502 495 +7 11.5 11.4 +0.1
2001 42,665 454 423 +31 10.6 9.9 +0.7
2002 42,416 426 425 +1 10.0 10.0 +0.0
2003 42,306 440 478 -38 10.4 11.3 -0.9
2004 42,029 456 497 -41 10.8 11.8 -1.0
2005 41,906 455 481 -26 10.9 11.5 -0.6
2006 41,899 493 496 -3 11.8 11.9 -0.1
2007 41,753 487 483 +4 11.7 11.6 +0.1
2008 41,718 506 482 +24 12.1 11.6 +0,6
2009 41,613 514 510 +4 12.4 12.3 +0.1
2010 41,366 474 487 -13 11.5 11.8 -0.3
2011 40,595 462 478 -16 11.4 11.8 -0.4
2012 40,390 451 486 -35 11.2 12.0 -0.8
2013 40,148 415 484 -69 10.3 12.1 -1.7
2014 39,785 409 535 -126 10.3 13.4 -3.2
2015 34,511 354 496 -142 10.3 14.4 -4.1
2016 34,281 361 480 -119 10.5 14.0 -3.5
2017 34,045 357 489 -132 10.5 14.4 -3.9
2018 33,787 366 480 -114 10.8 14.2 -3.4

Religion

According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:

Religious composition of Velingrad Municipality [2]
Orthodox Christianity
 
 44.1%
Catholicism
 
 0.3%
Protestantism
 
 0.8%
Islam
 
 43.8%
No religion
 
 2.9%
Prefer not to answer, others and aindefinable
 
 8.1%

The municipality of Velingrad is nearly equally divided between believers belonging to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Islam. Most Christians live in the town of Velingrad, while the Muslims (mostly Pomaks) live in mountainous villages.

References

  1. ^ Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (Dec 2011)
  2. ^ "Religious composition of Bulgaria 2011". pop-stat.mashke.org.

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