# Pleven Province

43°25′N 24°40′E﻿ / ﻿43.417°N 24.667°E﻿ / 43.417; 24.667
Pleven Province (Bulgarian: Област Плевен or Плевенска Област) 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 4,653.32 km$^2$ (1,796.66 sq mi) with a population, as of February 2011, of 269 752 inhabitants. The province's capital is the city of Pleven.

## 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.

## Municipalities

The Pleven province (област, oblast) contains 11 municipalities (Bulgarian: община, romanized: obshtina - plural: общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of December 2009.
| Municipality | Cyrillic | Pop. | Town/Village | Pop. |
| Belene | Белене | 10,908 | Belene | 8,905 |
| Gulyantsi | Гулянци | 13,561 | Gulyantsi | 3,432 |
| Dolna Mitropoliya | Долна Митрополия | 21,304 | Dolna Mitropoliya | 3,303 |
| Dolni Dabnik | Долни Дъбник | 14,438 | Dolni Dabnik | 4,761 |
| Levski | Левски | 21,487 | Levski | 10,571 |
| Nikopol | Никопол | 10,602 | Nikopol | 3,892 |
| Iskar | Искър | 7,717 | Iskar | 3,622 |
| Pleven | Плевен | 138,095 | Pleven | 111,426 |
| Pordim | Пордим | 7,114 | Pordim | 2,117 |
| Cherven Bryag | Червен бряг | 30,524 | Cherven Bryag | 13,856 |
| Knezha | Кнежа | 14,839 | Knezha | 11,191 |

## Demographics

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

### Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Pleven Province (2011 census) :
| Ethnic group | Ethnic group | Percentage | Percentage |
| Bulgarians | Bulgarians | 91.4% | 91.4% |
| Romani | Romani | 4.2% | 4.2% |
| Turks | Turks | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| others and indefinable | others and indefinable | 0.8% | 0.8% |
Total population (2011 census): 269,752
Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves 240,265 persons:
* Bulgarians: 219,612 (91,40%)
* Romani: 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 Roma) and 9,777 as Roma.

### 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 Romani were 8,861.

### Religion

Religions in Pleven Province (2011 census) :
| Religious group | Religious group | Percentage | Percentage |
| Orthodox Christian | Orthodox Christian | 56.73% | 56.73% |
| Catholic Christian | Catholic Christian | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| Muslim | Muslim | 1.77% | 1.77% |
| Protestant Christian | Protestant Christian | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| others and indefinable | others and indefinable | 39% | 39% |
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% |