Smolyan Province (, Oblast Smolyan; former name Smolyan okrug) 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 . Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91 that is divided into 10 municipalities with a total population of 124,795, as of December 2009. Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009 „WorldCityPopulation“„pop-stat.mashke.org“

Municipalities

Smolyan Province (Област, Oblast) contains 10 municipalitiesOblast Haskovo , official website (singular: община, 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.

Municipality Cyrillic Pop. Town/Village Pop. Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009„pop-stat.mashke.org“ Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Bulgarian villages under 1000 inhabitants – December 2009 Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Bulgarian Settlements 1000–5000 inhabitants – December 2009 Banite Баните 4,972 Banite 1,047 Borino Борино 3,618 Borino 2,516 Chepelare Чепеларе 8,045 Chepelare 5,412 Devin Девин 13,204 Devin 7,054 Dospat Доспат 9,526 Dospat 2,604 Madan Мадан 12,606 Madan 6,007 Nedelino Неделино 7,577 Nedelino 4,641 Rudozem Рудозем 9,801 Rudozem 3,583 Smolyan Смолян 43,186 Smolyan 31,718 Zlatograd Златоград 12,260 Zlatograd 7,110

Demographics The Smolyan province had a population of 140,066 according to the 2001 census, of which were male and were female. Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 124,795 of which are inhabitants aged over 60 years. Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009

As of the end of 2023, the population decreased to 92,107.

Ethnic groups

Total population (2011 census): 121,752 Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute Ethnic groups (2011 census):Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute 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: Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001

Ethnic group Population Percentage Bulgarians 122,806 Turkish 6,212 Romani 686 Russians 111 Armenians 42 Greeks 13 Ukrainians 27 Jewish 1 Romanians 1 Other 55

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 (), 5,782 Turkish (), 532 Romani () and 266 other (). Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Mother Tongue from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001

Religion

Unlike Kardzhali Province where the majority of the Muslim population is Turkish, the Muslim population of Smolyan Province is made up mostly of Muslim Bulgarians. The Muslim population is mainly concentrated in the municipalities Banite, Borino, Dospat, Madan and Rudozem. The Orthodox-Christians population live predominantly in the municipality of Smolyan and the municipality of Chepelare. The religious structure of the municipalities of Devin, Nedelino and Zlatograd is mixed with Pomaks as well as Orthodox Christians.

Religious adherence in the province according to 2011 census: Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Census 2011 religious adherence population % Answer not mentioned75,17150.8% Muslims29,00119.6% Orthodox Christians 28,294 19.1% Others and declared irreligious15,63210.6% total 148,098 100%

Economy The economy of the province is based on tourism, mining, timber and machine industries and livestock raising. The main crops of the region are potatoes (about 30% of the national production), rye and barley; but sheep, pigs and cattle are of greater importance for the agriculture. In the eastern parts of the province are located more than 20 lead and zinc mines, which form one of the most extensive ore deposits in the Balkans. The dense coniferous forests are prerequisite for well-developed timber industry in Dospat, Smolyan, Devin. In Smolyan there are big plants producing machine tools and other machinery, while textile industry is mainly developed to the east in Nedelino, Zlatograd, Madan and Rudozem. There is also a synthetic rubber plant in Madan.

Bulgaria's national observatory, Rozhen Observatory, is located near Chepelare. The primary of Media of Bulgaria has a 2-meter mirror, and is the largest observatory in SE Europe.

See also Provinces of Bulgaria List of villages in Smolyan Province

References

External links Pictures from Smolyan Province