| Kardzhali Province | |
| Native Name: | Bulgarian: Област Кърджали |
| Native Name Lang: | bul |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Bulgaria |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Kardzhali |
| Parts Type: | Municipalities |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 7 |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Nikola Chanev |
| Area Total Km2: | 3,209 |
| Population Total: | 142,508 |
| Population As Of: | December 2022 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | EET |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +3 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | License plate |
| Blank Info Sec1: | K |
Kardzhali Province (Bulgarian: Област Кърджали|Oblast Kyrdžali) is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek regional units of Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros to the south and east. It is 3209.1 km2 in area. Its main city is Kardzhali. It is Bulgaria's southernmost province.
The territory of Kardzhali province was acquired by Bulgaria during the First Balkan War in 1912. In 1913 the region was organized as the district (окръг, okrăg in Bulgarian) of Mestanli. This district was part of Stara Zagora province from 1934 until 1949,[1] then it was transferred to the newly formed Haskovo district. In 1959, Kardzhali became the center of a new district with similar borders to the current province. Between 1987 and 1999, the region was part of Haskovo Province, after which it was restored, now as a province and with slightly changed borders.
The Kardzhali province (област, oblast) contains seven municipalities (singular: община, obština; plural: общини, obštini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population as of 2009.
| Municipality | Cyrillic | Pop.[2] | Town or village | Pop. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardino | Ардино | 13,766 | Ardino | 4,368 | |
| Chernoochene | Черноочене | 10,132 | Chernoochene | 335 | |
| Dzhebel | Джебел | 9,012 | Dzhebel | 3,288 | |
| Kardzhali | Кърджали | 75,525 | Kardzhali | 50,482 | |
| Kirkovo | Кирково | 22,833 | Kirkovo | 719 | |
| Krumovgrad | Крумовград | 20,517 | Krumovgrad | 5,475 | |
| Momchilgrad | Момчилград | 19,327 | Momchilgrad | 9,187 |
The population data and figures are of December 15, 2004
Kardzhali Province had a population of 149,661 according to the provisional results of the 2011 census, of which were male and were female.[3] [4] [5] [6] Kardzhali is one of the three Bulgarian provinces where less than fifty percent of the population living in urban areas: only 41% lives in urban areas in 2016.
Total population (2011 census): 152,808[7]
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[8] Identified themselves: 130,781 persons:
86,527 (66.16%)
39,519 (30.22%)
A further 22,000 persons in the province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.
In the 2001 census, 158,704 people of the population of 164,019 of Karzhali Province identified themselves as belonging to one of the following ethnic groups (with percentage of total population):[9]
| Ethnic group | Population | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101,116 | |||
| 55,939 | |||
| 1,264 | |||
| 234 | |||
| 41 | |||
| 21 | |||
| 20 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| Other | 60 |
In the 2001 census, 160,167 people of the population of 164,019 of Kardzhali Province identified one of the following as their mother tongue (with percentage of total population):
According to the 2011 census, Muslims are 82,227 (70.14% of those who answered) and the Orthodox are 23,916 (20.4% of those who answered). The Muslims' figure is made up of Turks and in significant part by Muslim Bulgarians, though the Orthodox are the majority among the Bulgarians in the province.
In the 2001 census, 149,839 people of the population of 164,019 of Karzhali Province identified one of the following as their religion (with percentage of total population):[11]
| Census 2001 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| religious adherence | population | % | |
| Muslims | 114,217 | 69.6% | |
| Orthodox Christians | 35,265 | 21.5% | |
| Roman Catholics | 197 | 0.1% | |
| Protestants | 89 | 0.1% | |
| Other | 71 | 0.0% | |
| Religion not mentioned | 14,180 | 8.6% | |
| total | 164,019 | 100% | |