Smolyan Province ( bg, Област Смолян, ''Oblast Smolyan''; former name Smolyan okrug) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in Southern-central

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 ...

, located in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

, neighbouring

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

to the south. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the city of

Smolyan Smolyan ( bg, Смолян) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Smolyan Province. The town is built ...

. The province embraces a territory of .Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91
that is divided into 10 municipalities with a total population of 124,795 inhabitants, as of December 2009.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
/ref>
/ref>
/ref>

Municipalities

Smolyan Province (Област, ''Oblast'') contains 10 municipalities (singular: община, ''obshtina''; plural: Общини, ''obshtini''). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.

Population

The Smolyan province had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 140,066 according to the 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, of which were

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

and were

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

.Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex
fro

/ref> As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 124,795 of which are inhabitants aged over 60 years.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009
The following table represents the change of the population in the province after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Ethnic groups

Total population (2011 census): 121 752
Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 95,175 persons: *

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 ...

: 86 847 ( 91,25% ) *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

: 4 696 ( 4,93% ) *Others and indefinable: 3 632 ( 3,82% ) A further 26,000 persons in the Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census. In the 2001 census, 132,654 people of the population of 140,066 of Smolyan Province identified themselves as belonging to one of the following ethnic groups:Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group
fro

/ref>

Language

In the 2001 census, 135,761 people of the population of 140,066 of Smolyan Province identified one of the following as their

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

(with percentage of total population): 129,181

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

(), 5,782 Turkish (), 532

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

() and 266 other ().Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Mother Tongue
fro

/ref>

Religion

Unlike

Kardzhali Province Kardzhali Province ( bg, Област Кърджали, Oblast Kărdžali, tr, Kırcaali ili) is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek regional units of Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros to the south and east. It is 320 ...

where the majority of the Muslim population is Turkish, the Muslim population of Smolyan Province is made up mostly of

Muslim Bulgarians The Bulgarian Muslims or Muslim Bulgarians ( bg, Българи-мохамедани, ''Bǎlgari-mohamedani'', as of recently also Българи-мюсюлмани, ''Bǎlgari-mjusjulmani'', locally called '' Pomak'', ''ahryan'', ''poganets'', ' ...

. The Muslim population is mainly concentrated in the municipalities

Banite Banite ( bg, Баните ; "The Baths") is a village in the Central Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of Banite Municipality, Smolyan Province. Banite is known for its mineral spring Mineral springs a ...

Borino Borino ( bg, Борино, tr, Karabulak) is a village of Smolyan Province in southern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of Borino Municipality. Borino is situated in a valley in the Western Rhodope Mountains, at an altitude of . It is ...

Dospat Dospat ( bg, Доспат) is a town in the very south of Bulgaria, part of Smolyan Province, situated in the Rhodope Mountains, close to Dospat Dam. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Dospat Municipality. As of December 2010, t ...

, Madan and

Rudozem Rudozem ( bg, Рудозем ) is a town in southern Bulgaria, near the Greek border, located in the Rhodope Mountains, where the Elhovo and Chepino rivers flow into the Arda, and is part of Smolyan Province. It is the administrative centre of the ...

. The Orthodox-Christians population live predominantly in the municipality of

and the municipality of

Chepelare Chepelare ( bg, Чепеларе ) is the principal town in Chepelare Municipality, part of Smolyan Province in Southern Bulgaria. It is situated in the central part of the Rhodopes, on the banks of Chepelare River. Chepelare is a popular winte ...

. The religious structure of the municipalities of Devin,

Nedelino Nedelino ( bg, Неделино ) is a town and municipality in the Rhodope Mountains of the Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Sou ...

and

Zlatograd Zlatograd ( bg, Златоград, , ) is a town in Smolyan Province, southern-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Zlatograd Municipality. In December 2009, the town had a population of 7,110.Pomaks Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...

as well as Orthodox Christians. Religious adherence in the province according to 2011 census:Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001
/ref>

Economy

The economy of the province is based on tourism, mining, timber and machine industries and livestock raising. The main crops of the region are potatoes (about 30% of the national production), rye and barley; but sheep, pigs and cattle are of greater importance for the agriculture. In the eastern parts of the province are located more than 20 lead and zinc mines, which form one of the most extensive ore deposits in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. The dense coniferous forests are prerequisite for well-developed timber industry in

, Devin. In

there are big plants producing machine tools and other machinery, while textile industry is mainly developed to the east in

. There is also a synthetic rubber plant in Madan Bulgaria's national observatory, Rozhen Observatory, is located near Chepelare. The primary of Media of Bulgaria has a 2-meter mirror, and is the largest observatory in SE Europe.

References

External links

Pictures from Smolyan Province
{{Authority control Provinces of Bulgaria