Kardzhali Province
Province in southern Bulgaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kardzhali Province
Област Кърджали | |
|---|---|
Varbitsa River Valley | |
 Location of Kardzhali Province in Bulgaria | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Capital | Kardzhali |
| Municipalities | 7 |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Nikola Chanev |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,209 km2 (1,239 sq mi) |
| Population (December 2024)[1] | |
• Total | 149,478 |
| • Density | 46.58/km2 (120.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| License plate | K |
| Website | kardzhali |
Kardzhali Province (Bulgarian: Област Кърджали, romanized: Oblast Kărdžali; Turkish: Kırcaali) 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 3,209.1 km2 in area. Its main city is Kardzhali. It is Bulgaria's southernmost province.
History
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
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 |
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 218,686 | — |
| 1956 | 246,761 | +12.8% |
| 1965 | 283,758 | +15.0% |
| 1975 | 273,906 | −3.5% |
| 1985 | 290,254 | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 203,251 | −30.0% |
| 2001 | 164,019 | −19.3% |
| 2011 | 152,808 | −6.8% |
| 2021 | 141,177 | −7.6% |
| Source: pop-stat.mashke.org[4] | ||
According to the 2021 census, Kardzhali Province has a population of 141,177[5]. According to the 2011 census, 49.8% are male and 50.2% female.[1][6][7][8] Kardzhali is one of the three Bulgarian provinces where less than fifty percent of the population is living in urban areas: only 41% lives in urban areas in 2016.
Ethnic groups
Total population (2011 census): 152,808[9]
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[10]
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):[11]
| 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
In the 2021 census, 123,827 people of the population of 141,177 of Kardzhali Province identified one of the following as their mother tongue:
Religion
According to the 2021 census, there are 88,705 Muslims (80.26% of those who answered) and 19,872 Christians (17.98% of those who answered) in Kardzhali. 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.[12]