# Smolyan Province

41°40′N 24°35′E﻿ / ﻿41.667°N 24.583°E﻿ / 41.667; 24.583
Smolyan Province (Bulgarian: Област Смолян, 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 3,192.8 km$^2$ (1,232.7 sq mi). that is divided into 10 municipalities with a total population of 124,795, as of December 2009.

## Municipalities

Smolyan Province (Област, Oblast) contains 10 municipalities (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. |
| 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 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 124,795 of which 23.4% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.
As of the end of 2023, the population decreased to 92,107.

### Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Smolyan Province (2011 census) :
| Ethnic group | Ethnic group | Percentage | Percentage |
| Bulgarians | Bulgarians | 91.3% | 91.3% |
| Turks | Turks | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| others and indefinable | others and indefinable | 3.8% | 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 |
| Bulgarians | 122,806 | 87.677% |
| Turkish | 6,212 | 4.435% |
| Romani | 686 | 0.49% |
| Russians | 111 | 0.079% |
| Armenians | 42 | 0.03% |
| Greeks | 13 | 0.009% |
| Ukrainians | 27 | 0.019% |
| Jewish | 1 | 0.001% |
| Romanians | 1 | 0.001% |
| Other | 55 | 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 (92.2%), 5,782 Turkish (4.1%), 532 Romani (0.4%) and 266 other (0.2%).

### Religion

Religions in Smolyan Province (2011 census) :
| Religious group | Religious group | Percentage | Percentage |
| No answer or Irreligious | No answer or Irreligious | 61.4% | 61.4% |
| Muslim | Muslim | 19.6% | 19.6% |
| Orthodox Christian | Orthodox Christian | 19.1% | 19.1% |
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:
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% |

## 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.