Smolyan Province
Description
Smolyan Province is a province in Southern-central Bulgaria, located in the Rhodope Mountains, neighbouring Greece to the south. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Smolyan. The province embraces a territory of 3,192.8 km² that is divided into 10 municipalities with a total population of 124,795 inhabitants, as of December 2009.
Population
The Smolyan province had a population of 140,066 according to the 2001 census, of which 7001488000000000000♠48.8% were male and 7001512000000000000♠51.2% were female. As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 124,795 of which 7001234000000000000♠23.4% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.
The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II:
Smolyan Province Year 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011 Population 111,193 145,072 160,255 156,157 158,011 154,553 140,066 131,010 128,200 124,795 121,572 Sources: National Statistical Institute, „Census 2001“, „Census 2011“, „pop-stat.mashke.org“,??Ethnic groups
Ethnic groups in Smolyan Province (2011 census) Ethnic group Percentage Bulgarians 91.3% Turks 4.9% others and indefinable 3.8%Total population (2011 census): 121 752
Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 95,175 persons:
- Bulgarians: 86 847 ( 91,25 % )
- Turks: 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:
Ethnic group Population Percentage Bulgarian 122,806 7001876770000000000♠87.677% Turkish 6,212 7000443490000099999♠4.435% Roma (Gypsy) 686 6999490000000000000♠0.49% Russian 111 6998790000000000000♠0.079% Armenian 42 6998300000000000000♠0.03% Greek 13 6997900000000099999♠0.009% Ukrainian 27 6998190000000000000♠0.019% Jewish 1 6997100000000000000♠0.001% Romanian 1 6997100000000000000♠0.001% Other 55 6998390000000000000♠0.039%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 (with percentage of total population): 129,181 Bulgarian (7001922000000000000♠92.2%), 5,782 Turkish (7000410009999999999♠4.1%), 532 Roma (Gypsy) (6999400000000000000♠0.4%) and 266 other (6999200000000000000♠0.2%).
Religion
Religions in Smolyan Province (2011 census) Religious group Percentage Irreligious 61.4% Muslim 19.6% Orthodox Christian 19.1%Unlike Kardzhali Province where the majority of the Muslim population is Turkish, the Muslim population of Smolyan Province is made up almost entirely of Muslim Bulgarians.
Religious adherence in the province according to 2011 census:
Census 2011 religious adherence population % Answer not mentioned 75 171 50,8 % Muslims 29 001 19,6 % Orthodox Christians 28 294 19,1 % Others and declared irreligious 15 632 10,6 % total 148,098 100%