43°36′N 23°11′E / 43.600°N 23.183°E / 43.600; 23.183

Montana Province
Област Монтана
Kamenna Riksa
Kamenna Riksa
Flag of Montana Province
Location of Montana Province in Bulgaria
Location of Montana Province in Bulgaria
CountryBulgaria
CapitalMontana
Municipalities11
Government
 • GovernorRosen Belchev
Area
 • Total
3,635.5 km2 (1,403.7 sq mi)
Population
 (Census February 2011[1])
 • Total
148,098
 • Density41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
License plateM

Montana Province (Bulgarian: Област Монтана, transliterated: Oblast Montana) is a province in northwestern Bulgaria, bordering Serbia in the southwest and Romania in the north. It spreads its area between the Danube river and the Balkan Mountains. As of February 2011, the province had a population of 148,098,[1] on territory of 3,635.5 km2 (1,403.7 sq mi). It was named after its administrative centre the city of Montana.

Municipalities

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Municipalities in Montana province

The Montana province (Област, oblast) contains 11 municipalities (singular: община, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and in Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population as of 2011.

Municipality Cyrillic Pop.[2][3][4] Town/Village Pop.[3][5][6]
Berkovitsa Берковица 19,587 Berkovitsa 14,124
Boychinovtsi Бойчиновци 9,611 Boychinovtsi 1,588
Brusartsi Брусарци 5,140 Brusartsi 1,277
Chiprovtsi Чипровци 3,773 Chiprovtsi 1,937
Georgi Damyanovo Георги Дамяново 2,867 Georgi Damyanovo 494
Lom Лом 31,064 Lom 25,321
Medkovets Медковец 4,103 Medkovets 1,866
Montana Монтана 57,064 Montana 46,574
Valchedram Вълчедръм 9,988 Valchedram 3,748
Varshets Вършец 8,424 Varshets 6,439
Yakimovo Якимово 4,481 Yakimovo 1,711

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1946242,073—    
1956243,431+0.6%
1965242,841−0.2%
1975236,903−2.4%
1985223,415−5.7%
1992208,198−6.8%
2001182,258−12.5%
2011148,098−18.7%
2021119,950−19.0%
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org[7]

The Montana province had a population of 148,098 according to a 2011 census, of which 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female.[8]

As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 155,899[2] of which 30.5% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.[9]

Ethnic groups

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Ethnic groups in Montana Province (2011 census)
Ethnic group Percentage
Bulgarians
86.3%
Romani
12.7%
others and indefinable
0.9%

Total population (2011 census): 148 098[10]

Ethnic groups (2011 census):[11] Identified themselves: 143 467 persons:

  • Bulgarians: 123 820 (86,31%)
  • Romani: 18 228 (12,71%)
  • Others and indefinable: 1 248 (0,87%)

In the 2001 census, 181,175 people of the population of 182,258 of Montana Province identified themselves as belonging to one of the following ethnic groups (with percentage of total population):[12]

Ethnic group Population Percentage
Bulgarians 157,507 86.42%
Romani 22,784 12.501%
Russians 272 0.149%
Turkish 235 0.129%
Armenian 19 0.01%
Vlachs (Aromanians, Romanians, Romanian-speaking Boyash) 19 0.01%
Macedonian 16 0.009%
Greeks 24 0.013%
Ukrainians 46 0.025%
Jews 3 0.002%
Other 250 0.137%

Language

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In the 2001 census, 181,208 people of the population of 182,258 of Montana Province identified one of the following as their mother tongue (with percentage of total population): 160,494 Bulgarian (88.1%), 19,849 Romani (10.9%), 220 Turkish (0.1%), and 645 other (0.4%).[13]

Religion

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Religions in Montana Province (2011 census)
Religious group Percentage
Orthodox Christian
73.9%
Irreligious
23.6%
Protestant Christian
2.0%
Roman Catholic Christian
0.3%
Muslim
0.1%
others
0.1%

In the 2011 census, 136,175 people of the population of 148,098 of Montana Province identified one of the following as their religion:

Census 2011
religious adherence population %
Orthodox Christians 100,571 73.86%
Protestants 2,740 2.01%
Roman Catholics 438 0.32%
Muslims 94 0.07%
Other 163 0.12%
Religion not mentioned 17,323 12,72%
Religion none 14,842 10,9%
total 148,098 100%

In the 2001 census, 172,358 people of the population of 182,258 of Montana Province identified one of the following as their religion:[14]

Census 2001
religious adherence population %
Orthodox Christians 168,171 92.27%
Protestants 3,680 2.02%
Muslims 283 0.16%
Roman Catholics 121 0.07%
Other 864 0.47%
Religion not mentioned 9,139 5.01%
total 182,258 100%

Towns and villages

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The place names in bold have the status of town (in Bulgarian: град, transliterated as grad). Other localities have the status of village (in Bulgarian: село, transliterated as selo). The names of localities are transliterated in Latin alphabet,[15][16] followed in parentheses by the original name in Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet which links to the corresponding Bulgarian Wikipedia article).

Berkovitsa (Берковица)

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The Berkovitsa municipality has one town (in bold) and 19 villages:

Boychinovtsi (Бойчиновци)

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The Boychinovtsi municipality has one town (in bold) and 12 villages:

Brusartsi (Брусарци)

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The Brusartsi municipality has one town (in bold) and nine villages:

Chiprovtsi (Чипровци)

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The Chiprovtsi municipality has one town (in bold) and nine villages:

Georgi Damyanovo (Георги Дамяново)

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The Georgi Damyanovo municipality has 13 villages:

Lom (Лом)

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The Lom municipality has one town (in bold) and nine villages:

Medkovets (Медковец)

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The Medkovets municipality has five villages:

Montana (Монтана)

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The Montana municipality has one town (in bold) and 23 villages:

Valchedram (Вълчедръм)

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The Valchedram municipality has one town (in bold) and ten villages:

Varshets (Вършец)

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The Varshets municipality has one town (in bold), eight villages and one monastery (which has official status as a locality[17]):

Yakimovo (Якимово)

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The Yakimovo municipality has four villages:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b (in Bulgarian)National Statistical Institute - Census 2011
  2. ^ a b (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - provinces and municipalities in 2009
  3. ^ a b (in English) „WorldCityPopulation“
  4. ^ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  5. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
  6. ^ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  7. ^ "Divisions of Bulgaria". 2024-04-03.
  8. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex Archived 2019-03-22 at the Wayback Machine from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009 Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute
  11. ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
  12. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Mother Tongue from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001 Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001 Archived 2010-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Geonames Search Archived 2010-03-07 at the Wayback Machine at National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) - reference for location names
  16. ^ Montana Region/District at Guide-Bulgaria.com - reference for location names
  17. ^ (in Bulgarian) Population Chart, 15.03.2009 from Bulgarian Directorate General: Civil Registration and Administrative Services
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