# Shumen Province

43°15′N 27°0′E﻿ / ﻿43.250°N 27.000°E﻿ / 43.250; 27.000
Shumen Province (Bulgarian: Област Шумен, transliterated Oblast Shumen, former name Shumen okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria named after its main city Shumen. It is divided into ten municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 194,090 inhabitants.

## The Main City

The city of Shumen is famous in the region for the Monument to 1300 Years of Bulgaria. The monument is in the cubist style and is 1300 steps (each step representing a year) above the center of the town. Other places of note are the Shumen fortress, Tombul Mosque, and Shumen Plato National park. The center of the town has a historical museum, large library, and large theater. The municipality building, also in the center, has a concert hall that features regular symphony performances. Shumen is also the location of the Shumensko Brewery, a popular beer in Bulgaria. The area surrounding Shumen plays a significant part in Bulgarian History with the first and second capitols of historical Bulgaria within thirty kilometers from the city.

## Municipalities

The Shumen Province contains 10 municipalities (singular: община, obshtina - plural: общини, obshtini). The following table shows each municipality's name in English and Cyrillic, main town (in bold) or village, and population as of December 2009.
| Municipality | Cyrillic | Pop. | Town/Village | Pop. (December 2009) |
| Venets | Венец | 6,905 | Venets | 725 |
| Varbitsa | Върбица | 10,492 | Varbitsa | 3,585 |
| Hitrino | Хитрино | 6,423 | Hitrino | 715 |
| Kaolinovo | Каолиново | 12,251 | Kaolinovo | 1,538 |
| Kaspichan | Каспичан | 8,871 | Kaspichan | 3,260 |
| Nikola Kozlevo | Никола Козлево | 6,381 | Nikola Kozlevo | 789 |
| Novi Pazar | Нови Пазар | 18,476 | Novi Pazar | 12,673 |
| Veliki Preslav | Велики Преслав | 15,292 | Veliki Preslav | 8,951 |
| Smyadovo | Смядово | 7,402 | Smyadovo | 4,036 |
| Shumen | Шумен | 101,597 | Shumen | 86,824 |

## Demographics

The Shumen province had a population of 204,395 (204,378 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female.
As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 194,090 of which 22.7% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.

### Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Shumen Province (2011 census) :
| Ethnic group | Ethnic group | Percentage | Percentage |
| Bulgarians | Bulgarians | 59.2% | 59.2% |
| Turks | Turks | 30.3% | 30.3% |
| Romani | Romani | 8.2% | 8.2% |
| others and indefinable | others and indefinable | 2.3% | 2.3% |
Total population (2011 census): 180,528
By self-identified ethnicity (167,952 people):
* Bulgarians: 99,446 (59.21%)
* Turks: 50,878 (30.29%)
* Romani: 13,847 (8.24%)
* Others and indefinable: 3,781 (2.25%)
A further 12,000 people did not declare their ethnic group.
Self-identified ethnic group according to the 2001 census (204,378 people out of the total population of 204,395, with percentage of total population):
* Bulgarians: 123,084 (60.22%)
* Turks: 59,551 (29.14%)
* Romani: 16,457 (8.05%)

### Religion

Religions in Shumen Province (2001 census) :
| Religious group | Religious group | Percentage | Percentage |
| Orthodox Christian | Orthodox Christian | 59.1% | 59.1% |
| Muslim | Muslim | 35.5% | 35.5% |
| Protestant Christian | Protestant Christian | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Roman Catholic Christian | Roman Catholic Christian | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| others and indefinable | others and indefinable | 4.5% | 4.5% |
Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:
Census 2001 :
| religious adherence | population | % |
| Orthodox Christians | 120,787 | 59.10% |
| Muslims | 72,544 | 35.50% |
| Protestants | 1,472 | 0.72% |
| Roman Catholics | 386 | 0.19% |
| Other | 821 | 0.40% |
| Religion not mentioned | 8,368 | 4.09% |
| total | 204,378 | 100% |

## Transportation

Shumen lies on the main route between Varna and Sofia and is served by numerous trains and buses serving the city.