The Pčinja District ( sr, Пчињски округ, Pčinjski okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of

Southern and Eastern Serbia The Southern and Eastern Serbia ( sr, Јужна и источна Србија, Južna i istočna Srbija) is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. It is also a level-2 statistical region according to the European NUTS. It was formed in 201 ...

. It covers the southern part of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, bordering the disputed territory of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, along with

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. Its administrative center is the city of

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. The municipality of Vranje has a population of 83,524 and its urban area has 60,485 inhabitants. Vranje is the economical, poli ...

. According to the 2011 census, the district has a population of 159,081. Due to an Albanian

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

, the actual population is likely greater than is stated in the official statistics. One estimate suggests between 20,000–50,000 more people than recorded live in the district. The

Vranjska Banja The City municipality of Vranjska Banja ( sr-cyrl, Градска општина Врањска Бања, Gradska opština Vranjska Banja) is a town and one of two city municipalities which constitute the City of Vranje. It is also one of the spa ...

spa plays a part in this region, with its multi-medicinal thermal mineral waters.

Municipalities

It encompasses the municipalities of: *

Vladičin Han Vladičin Han ( sr-cyrl, Владичин Хан, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. As of 2011, the population of the town is 8,030, while the population of the municipality is 20,871. History From 19 ...

Surdulica Surdulica ( sr-cyr, Сурдулица) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. As of 2011, the population of the town is 11,400, while the municipality has 20,319 inhabitants. History Historically, the tow ...

Bosilegrad Bosilegrad ( sr-cyr, Босилеград; bg, Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. The municipality comprises an area of . According to 2011 census, town has a population of 2,624 i ...

Trgovište Trgovište ( sr-cyr, Трговиште) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the population of the town is 1,785, while population of the municipality is 5,091. Settlements As ...

* Bujanovac * Preševo Pcinja District en

Culture and history

The ancient

Paeonian In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia ( grc, Παιονία, Paionía) was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians or Paionians ( grc, Παίονες, Paíones). The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, a ...

tribe of the

Agrianians The Agrianes (Ancient Greek: Ἀγρίανες, ''Agrianes'' or Ἀγρίαι ''Agriai'') or Agrianians, were a tribe whose country was centered at Upper Strymon, in present-day central Western Bulgaria as well as southeasternmost Serbia, at the ...

ruled the region in antiquity. Cultural-historic monuments date back from over five centuries ago. The earliest military fortification, Marko's Fortress, was established in the 13th century. Also famous are the ancient Turkish public baths from the 16th century and the Pasha's House from 1765, in which a grammar school was opened in 1882. In 2001, uprisings by Albanians occurred in the Albanian-majority municipalities of Preševo and Bujanovac. In addition, reports emerged in 2006 that the municipality of

had threatened to secede itself to

, which was noteworthy because it has a majority Serb population. Representatives cited economic hardship and a declining population as grievances against Serbia’s government."Lost in Shuffle, Serb Town Sees Future in Macedonia." New York Times, April 25, 2006.
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Demographics

Ethnic composition

;1992 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

= 60.4% *

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

= 26.5% *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

= 5.7% *

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

= 4.4% * Others = 3% ;2002 *

= 147,046 (64.58%) *

= 54,795 (24.07%) *

= 12,073 (5.3%) *

= 8,491 (3.73%) * Others = 5,285 (2.32%) ;2011 *

= 132,601 (83,35%) *

= 13,826 (8.69%) *

= 7,287 (4.58%) *

= 680 (0.43%) * Others

Notes

References

* Note: ''All official material made by the Government of Serbia is public by law. Information was taken from th
official website
'.

External links

* {{Authority control Districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia