Pleven Province

Pleven Province is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. It is divided into 11 subdivisions, called municipalities, that embrace a territory of 4,333.54 km² with a population, as of February 2011, of 269 752 inhabitants. The province's capital is the city of Pleven.

Pleven • Cherven Bryag • Levski • Nikopol • Knezha • Belene • Dolna Mitropoliya • Pordim • Gulyantsi • Dolni Dabnik • Iskar Municipalities within Pleven Province with their main towns

Naming

The following Bulgarian terms may be used:

• Плевенска област (Plevenska oblast)
• Област Плевен (Oblast Pleven)
• Плевенски окръг (Plevenski okrag), obsolete
• Окръг Плевен (Okrag Pleven), obsolete

Geography

The province is part of the central Danubian Plain. It is crossed from south to north by the rivers Iskar, Vit and Osam (in west-east order); the river valleys are separated by limestone plateaus.

Population

As of February 2011, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 266 144 of which 7001284000000000000♠28.4% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.

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

Pleven Province Year 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011 Population 347,299 358,270 366,347 394,734 382,634 365,254 311,985 305,025 297,928 290,589 269 752 Sources: National Statistical Institute, „Census 2001“, „Census 2011“, „pop-stat.mashke.org“,

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Pleven Province (2011 census) Ethnic group Percentage Bulgarians   91.4% Gypsies   4.2% Turks   3.6% others and indefinable   0.8%

Total population (2011 census): 269 752

Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 240 265 persons:

• Bulgarians: 219 612 (91,40%)
• Gypsies: 9 961 (4,15%)
• Turks: 8 666 (3,61%)
• Others and indefinable: 2 026 (0,84%)

A further 30,000 persons in Pleven Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

According to the 2001 census, the population of the province was 312,018, of which Bulgarians constitute an overwhelming majority of 280,475. 16,931 signed as Turks (though this number very likely also includes Muslim Gypsy) and 9,777 as Gypsy.

Languages

According to the 2001 census 283,626 people specified Bulgarian as their mother tongue, 14,947 declared to speak Turkish at home, while the native speakers of Gypsy were 8,861.

Religion

Religions in Pleven Province (2001 census) Religious group Percentage Orthodox Christian   88.2% Muslim   5.0% Roman Catholic Christian   2.3% Protestant Christian   0.2% others and indefinable   4.3%

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:

Census 2001 religious adherence population % Orthodox Christians 275,112 88.18% Muslims 15,681 5.03% Roman Catholics 7,065 2.26% Protestants 548 0.18% Other 1,301 0.42% Religion not mentioned 12,278 3.93% total 311,985 100%