Kardzhali Province

Summary

41°39′N 25°22′E / 41.650°N 25.367°E / 41.650; 25.367

Kardzhali Province
Област Кърджали
Varbitsa River Valley
Varbitsa River Valley
Flag of Kardzhali Province
Location of Kardzhali Province in Bulgaria
Location of Kardzhali Province in Bulgaria
CountryBulgaria
CapitalKardzhali
Municipalities7
Government
 • GovernorNikola Chanev
Area
 • Total3,209 km2 (1,239 sq mi)
Population
 (December 2022)[1]
 • Total142,508
 • Density44/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
License plateK
Websitewww.kj.government.bg

Kardzhali Province (Bulgarian: Област Кърджали, romanizedOblast Kyrdžali) 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 3209.1 km2 in area. Its main city is Kardzhali.

History edit

The territory of Kardzhali province was acquired by Bulgaria during the First Balkan War in 1912. In 1913 the region was organized as the district (окръг, okrăg in Bulgarian) of Mestanli. This district was part of Stara Zagora province from 1934 until 1949,[2] then it was transferred to the newly formed Haskovo district. In 1959 Kardzhali became the center of a new district with similar borders to the current province. Between 1987 and 1999, the region was part of Haskovo Province, after which it was restored, now as a province and with slightly changed borders.

Municipalities edit

 
Municipalities in Kardzhali province

The Kardzhali province (област, oblast) contains seven municipalities (singular: община, obština; plural: общини, obštini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population as of 2009.

Municipality Cyrillic Pop.[3] Town or village Pop.[3]
Ardino Ардино 13,766 Ardino 4,368
Chernoochene Черноочене 10,132 Chernoochene 335
Dzhebel Джебел 9,012 Dzhebel 3,288
Kardzhali Кърджали 75,525 Kardzhali 50,482
Kirkovo Кирково 22,833 Kirkovo 719
Krumovgrad Крумовград 20,517 Krumovgrad 5,475
Momchilgrad Момчилград 19,327 Momchilgrad 9,187

Towns and villages edit

The population data and figures are of December 15, 2004

  • Abramovo (pop: 94)
  • Ahrisko (pop: 127, elev: 680 m, postal code: 6761)

Demographics edit

Kardzhali Province had a population of 149,661 according to the provisional results of the 2011 census, of which 49.8% were male and 50.2% were female.[1][4][5][6] Kardzhali is one of the three Bulgarian provinces where less than fifty percent of the population living in urban areas: only 41% lives in urban areas in 2016.

The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II:

Kardzhali Province
Year 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011
Population 218,686 246,761 283,758 273,906 290,254 203,251 164,019 158,541 156,652 154,719 152,808
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[4] „Census 2001“,[5] „Census 2011“,[1] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,??

Ethnic groups edit

Ethnic groups in Kardzhali Province (2011 census)
Ethnic group Percentage
Turks
66.2%
Bulgarians
30.2%
others and indefinable
3.6%

Total population (2011 census): 152,808[7]
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[8] Identified themselves: 130,781 persons:

  • Turks: 86,527 (66.16%)
  • Bulgarians: 39,519 (30.22%)
  • Others and indefinable: 4,735 (3.62%)

A further 22,000 persons in the province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

In the 2001 census, 158,704 people of the population of 164,019 of Karzhali Province identified themselves as belonging to one of the following ethnic groups (with percentage of total population):[9]

Ethnic group Population Percentage
Turks 101,116 61.649%
Bulgarians 55,939 34.105%
Romani 1,264 0.771%
Russians 234 0.143%
Armenians 41 0.025%
Greeks 21 0.013%
Ukrainians 20 0.012%
Macedonians 7 0.004%
Jews 1 0.001%
Romanians 1 0.001%
Other 60 0.037%

Language edit

In the 2001 census, 160,167 people of the population of 164,019 of Kardzhali Province identified one of the following as their mother tongue (with percentage of total population):

Religion edit

Religions in Kardzhali Province (2001 census)
Religious group Percentage
Muslim
69.6%
Orthodox Christian
21.5%
Roman Catholic Christian
0.1%
Protestant Christian
0.1%
others and indefinable
8.6%

According to the 2011 census, Muslims are 82,227 (70.14% of those who answered) and the Orthodox are 23,916 (20.4% of those who answered). The Muslims' figure is made up of Turks and in significant part by Muslim Bulgarians, though the Orthodox are the majority among the Bulgarians in the province.

In the 2001 census, 149,839 people of the population of 164,019 of Karzhali Province identified one of the following as their religion (with percentage of total population):[11]

Census 2001
religious adherence population %
Muslims 114,217 69.6%
Orthodox Christians 35,265 21.5%
Roman Catholics 197 0.1%
Protestants 89 0.1%
Other 71 0.0%
Religion not mentioned 14,180 8.6%
total 164,019 100%

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c ""pop-stat.mashke.org"". Mashke.org. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ "*** Visit To Bulgaria *** - Ardino".
  3. ^ a b (in Bulgarian) Population Chart, 15.03.2009 from Bulgarian Directorate General: Civil Registration and Administrative Services
  4. ^ a b (in Bulgarian) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - 2011 census Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b (in English) „WorldCityPopulation“
  6. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population by 01.02.2011 by Area and Sex Archived 2011-04-08 at the Wayback Machine from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Preliminary results of Census 2011
  7. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute Archived 2013-09-08 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute Archived 2013-05-21 at the Wayback Machine (in Bulgarian)
  9. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Mother Tongue from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Archived 2010-09-07 at the Wayback Machine