Plovdiv Oblast

Plovdiv Oblast (Province) (Област Пловдив - Oblast Plovdiv, former name Plovdiv okrug) is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, obshtini, sing. общинa, obshtina) on a territory of 5,972.9 km² with a total population, as of December 2009, of 701,684 inhabitants. The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Plovdiv.

Geography
It includes parts of the Upper Thracian Plain, the Rhodopes, Sredna Gora, the Sub-Balkan valleys and Stara Planina, including its highest peak Botev (2, 376m). The main rivers in the province are Maritsa, Stryama, Pyasachnik. There are numerous dams, the most important of which is Pyasachnik. Mineral springs are abundant, there are several major spa resorts- Hisarya, Narechen, Banya and minor spas at Klisura, Asenovgrad, Kuklen, Rosino, Krasnovo, Stoletovo and others. There are many natural landmarks, especially in the Central Balkan National Park, including the spectacular waterfall Raysko Praskalo, the highest in the Balkans.

Municipalities
The Plovdiv province (Област, oblast) contains 18 municipalities (singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.

Towns
The province's capital is the city of Plovdiv, other towns include Karlovo, Sopot, Klisura, Kalofer, Hisarya, Saedinenie, Rakovski, Brezovo, Stamboliyski, Krichim, Perushtitsa, Sadovo, Parvomay, Asenovgrad, Laki, Katunica, Yiagodovo.

Demography
The Plovdiv province had a population of 715,904 (715,816 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which 48.4% were male and 51.6% were female. As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 701,684 of which 24.1% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.

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

Religion
Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:

Economy
The economy of the province is of great importance. The agricultural production is intensive and efficient with high levels of irrigation. The major crops are fruit (apples, plums, pears, cherries), grapes, melons and watermelons, vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cabbage, potatoes), wheat, rice, barley and others. Industry is very well developed: ferrous metallurgy near Plovdiv; thriving electronics industry in Plovdiv, Saedinenie, Voivodinovo, Radinovo and other villages in the area; agricultural machinery (tractors) in Karlovo, weapon and military plants in Sopot, Karlovo, Plovdiv; chemical industry in Plovdiv, Asenovgrad; food industry is developed almost everywhere, most notably in Plovdiv and Asenovgrad (wines). Tourism is a growing industry with the rich cultural heritage of the province and the numerous mineral springs which are of international importance.