| Constanța County | |
| Native Name: | Județul Constanța |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Coordinates: | 44.27°N 28.31°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Development region1 |
| Subdivision Type2: | Historic region |
| Subdivision Type3: | Capital city (Reședință de județ) |
| Subdivision Name1: | Sud-Est |
| Subdivision Name2: | Dobruja |
| Subdivision Name3: | Constanța |
| Government Type: | County Council |
| Leader Party: | PNL |
| Leader Title: | President of the County Council |
| Leader Name: | Mihai LUPU |
| Leader Title1: | Prefect |
| Leader Name1: | Silviu-Iulian COȘA |
| Area Total Km2: | 7104 |
| Area Rank: | 8th in Romania |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Rank: | 5th in Romania |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal Code |
| Postal Code: | 90wxyz3 |
| Area Code: | +40 x414 |
| Iso Code: | RO-CT |
| Website: | County Board County Prefecture |
| Footnotes: | 1The development regions of Romania have no administrative role. They were formed just to attract funds from the European Union 2 as of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public official. He or she is not allowed to be a member of a political party and is forbidden from political activity in the first six months after the resignation (or exclusion) from the ranks of public officials 3w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or even the building of the address 4x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks 5used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utility vehicles, ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
| Blank Name: | Car Plates |
| Blank Info: | CT5 |
| Blank1 Name: | GDP nominal |
| Blank1 Info: | US$14.640 billion (2024) |
| Blank2 Name: | GDP per capita |
| Blank2 Info: | US$22,351 (2024) |
| Blank3 Name: | Economy rank |
| Blank3 Info: | 3rd |
Constanța (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /konˈstantsa/) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța.
In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 and the population density was 92/km2. The degree of urbanization is much higher (about 75%) than the Romanian average. In recent years the population trend is:
| Year | County population[1] [2] | |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 311,062 | |
| 1956 | 369,940 | |
| 1966 | 465,752 | |
| 1977 | 608,817 | |
| 1992 | 748,044 | |
| 2002 | 715,151 | |
| 2011 | 684,082 | |
| 2021 | 655,997 |
The majority of the population are Orthodox Romanians. There are important communities of Muslim Turks and Tatars, remnants of the time of Ottoman rule. Currently the region is the centre of the Muslim minority in Romania. A great number of Aromanians have migrated to Dobruja in the last century, and they consider themselves a cultural minority rather than an ethnic minority. There are also Romani.
| Ethnicity | 1880[3] | 2002[4] | 2011 | 2021[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 64,902 | 715,151 | 630,679 | 655,997 | |
| Romanian | 14,884 (23%) | 652,777 (91%) | 570,754 (83.43%) | 504,344 (76.88%) | |
| Tatar | 22,854 (35%) | 23,230 (3.2%) | 19,601 (2.87%) | 16,918 (2.58%) | |
| Turkish | 14,947 (23%) | 24,246 (3.4%) | 20,826 (3.04%) | 16,121 (2.46%) | |
| Roma | <100 (<0.1%) | 6,023 (0.84%) | 8,554 (1.25%) | 6,593 (1.01%) | |
| Lipovan | 5,273 (0.74%) | 3,568 (0.52%) | 4,084 (0.62%) | ||
| Hungarian | 921 (0.13%) | 450 (0.07%) | 313 (0.05%) | ||
| Greek | 2,607 (4%) | 590 (0.08%) | 266 (0.04%) | 232 (0.04%) | |
| Bulgarian | 7,919 (12%) | 74 (0.01%) | 35 (0.01%) | 72 (0.01%) | |
| Others | 2,017 (0.28%) | 6,625 (1.05%) | 107,320 (16.35%) |
The predominant industries in the county are:
Agriculture is an important part in the county's economy, with Constanța being the county with the largest irrigation systems in the country (more than 4,300 km2 before 1989, now greatly reduced), cereals being the most important products. Also, the county is famous for its wines from the Murfatlar region.
At Cernavodă there is a nuclear power plant with two reactors, each of the CANDU type of Canadian design. The plant covers over 15% of the country's power demand.
The Port of Constanța is the largest port in Romania, the most important of the Black Sea and the 4th in Europe. It is linked with the Danube by the Danube-Black Sea Canal – the widest and deepest navigable channel in Europe, although it is not used to its full potential.
The Romanian Riviera along the coast of the Black Sea is the preferred destination for the summer holidays in Romania. The resorts are, from North to South:
Also worth visiting are:
As of 27 September 2020, the elected President of the County Council is Mihai Lupu from PNL.[6] In addition, in the wake of the 2020 Romanian local elections, the current Constanța County Council consists of 36 counsellors, with the following party composition:[7]
| Party | Seats | Current County Council | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal Party (PNL) | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party (PSD) | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Save Romania Union (USR) | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| PRO Romania (PRO) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| People's Movement Party (PMP) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
See also: Constanța metropolitan area. Constanța County has 3 municipalities, 9 towns and 58 communes:
| Official Name: | Județul Constanța |
| Settlement Type: | County (Județ) |
| Subdivision Type2: | Historic region |
| Subdivision Type3: | Capital city (Reședință de județ) |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1879 |
| Established Title2: | Ceased to exist |
| Established Date2: | Administrative reform of 1950 |
| Area Total Km2: | 6916 |
| Population As Of: | 1930 |
| Population Total: | 253093 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
Following the 1926 administrative reform, the borders of the historical county are identical to the ones of the current Constanța County, with the exception of the Ostrov and Lipnița communes, which were then administered by the Durostor County, the Baia commune, now part of Tulcea County, and the villages of Tereskondu, Pârâul Caprei, Fundeni, Pădureni, Saldu Alde and Enigea-Haidar, now in Bulgaria.
The county neighboured the Black Sea to the east, the counties of Tulcea and Brăila to the north, Ialomița to the west, Durostor to the south-west and Caliacra to the south.
The county originally consisted of four districts (plăși):[9]
Subsequently, the territory of the county was reorganized into seven districts:
On the territory of Constanta County there were seven urban localities: Constanţa (with city status) and the urban communes of Carmen-Sylva, Techirghiol, Mangalia, Medgidia, Cernavodă and Hârșova.
After the 1938 Administrative and Constitutional Reform, this county merged with the counties of Ialomița, Durostor and Caliacra to form Ținutul Mării. It was re-established in 1940 after the fall of Carol II's regime. Ten years later, it was abolished by the Communist regime.
According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 253,093 inhabitants, of which 66.2% were Romanians, 8.9% Bulgarians, 6.8% Turks, 6.0% Tatars, 3.8% Germans, 1.8% Greeks, 1.5% Russians, 1.3% Armenians, as well as other minorities.[10] In religion, the population consisted of 78.9% Eastern Orthodox, 13.1% Islam, 2.5% Lutheran, 1.8% Roman Catholics, as well as other minorities.[11]
In 1930, the urban population of the county was 81,631 inhabitants, 68.7% Romanians, 7.3% Turks, 5.2% Greeks, 3.9% Armenians, 2.5% Germans, 2.2% Jews, 2.0% Tatars, 2.0% Bulgarians, 1.7% Russians, 1.7% Hungarians, as well as other minorities. Among the urban population, mother tongues were reported to be Romanian (72.0%), Turkish (9.7%), Greek (4.5%), Armenian (3.6%), German (2.4%), as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed mostly of Eastern Orthodox (78.4%), followed by Muslim (9.6%), Armenian Apostolic (3.3%), Roman Catholic (2.7%), Jewish (2.3%), Lutheran (1.6%), as well as other minorities.