province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of central Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
, in the eastern part of the autonomous community
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administr ...
of Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...
Sistema Ibérico
The Iberian System ( es, Sistema Ibérico, ) is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain.
It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of th ...
area.
Demographics
It is bordered by the provinces ofLa Rioja
La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a ...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...
, Guadalajara, Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes o ...
, and Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence o ...
. Soria is the least populous of all of Spain's provinces, with a density of around 9 inhabitants/km2—one of the lowest in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
. The average population density of provinces in Spain and European Union are 83.6 and 116 inhabitants per square km respectively. In comparison, the Soria province is less dense than some northern parts of the Nordic countries.
Of the province's population of 91,487 (2002), nearly 40% live in the capital, Soria
Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial popula ...
. 26.7% of its population was above 65 years of age while the nation's average is 16.9%. There are 183 municipalities in Soria, of which nearly half are hamlets of under 100 people and of which only 12 have more than 1000 people. The cathedral town of the province is El Burgo de Osma
Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma is the third-largest municipality in the province of Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is a ...
.
Population development
The historical population is given in the following chart:Economy
The province's most important agricultural products are cereals. In the 1950s there were a total of 70,000 hectares cultivated land, but excessive fragmentation and lack of mechanization resulted in a very low productivity.Ruiz, Emilio (2001). Historia Economica de Soria. CSIC In 1960, while the agricultural sector accounted for 69% of workers in the province, 70% of farms were used exclusively for animal rearing. There are currently about 100,000 hectares of land in the province dedicated to the cultivation of wheat and other 100,000 hectares for barley cultivation. The indigenous forest resources are also being exploited for timber, resin and collecting mushrooms. Marble quarries are located in Espejón while Sierra de Toranzo and Ólvega have iron mines. Magnetite sources are also being exploited in Borobia. The capital city Soria is an important tourist destination. While the agricultural sector has a very high contribution toGDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
of the province, the industrial sector represents a small proportion, just over 20% of GDP. Apart from these the province also has important food, wood processing
Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing.
The major wood ...
, furniture production and auxiliary automotive components industries.
Subdivision
Comarcas
Soria has 183 municipalities divided in 10 comarcas:
* Comarca de Almazán
Comarca de Almazán is a comarca of the province of Soria, in Castile and Leon (Spain). It has 22 municipalities located in the centre-south of the province.
The capital of the comarca is Almazán
Almazán () is a municipality located in the pr ...
* Comarca de Berlanga
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
* Comarca de Burgo de Osma
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
* Comarca de Campo de Gómara
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
* Comarca de El Valle
* Comarca de Pinares
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
* Comarca de Soria
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
* Comarca de Tierras Altas
* Comarca del Moncayo
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
* Tierra de Medinaceli
Tierra may refer to:
Astronomy
*Earth in the Spanish and Asturian language
Computing and games
* Tierra (computer simulation), a computer simulation of life by the ecologist Thomas S. Ray
* Tierra Entertainment, now known as AGD Interactive, a ...
Coat of arms
The province's coat of arms bears the motto ''Soria pura, cabeza de estremadura'', which means "Soria the pure, head of the borderland", as Soria was centuries ago on the expanding borders between the northern Christian kingdoms and the territories then held by the Muslims.Municipalities
Notes and references
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soria, Province of