| Sibiu County | |
| Native Name: | Județul Sibiu |
| Native Name Lang: | ro |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Map Alt: | Administrative map of Romania with Sibiu county highlighted |
| Coordinates: | 45.87°N 24.23°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Romania |
| Subdivision Type1: | Development region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Centru |
| Subdivision Type2: | Historical region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Transylvania |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Sibiu |
| Leader Party: | EPP |
| Leader Title: | President of the County Board |
| Leader Title1: | Prefect |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 5,432 |
| Area Rank: | 24th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Rank: | 25th |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | (+40) 269 or (+40) 369[1] |
| Iso Code: | RO-SB |
| Website: | County Council Prefecture |
| Blank1 Name: | GDP (nominal) |
| Blank1 Info: | US$ 8.112 billion (2024) |
| Blank2 Name: | GDP per capita |
| Blank2 Info: | US$ 10,310 (2015) |
Sibiu County (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /siˈbiw/) is a county (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: [[județ]]) of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: reședință de județ) is the namesake town of Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt).
In Hungarian, it is known as Szeben megye, and in German as Kreis Hermannstadt. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Szeben County, Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Comitatul Sibiu) was created in 1876.
In 2011, Sibiu County had a population of 397,322 and the population density was .
At the 2011 census, the county has the following population indices:
At the 2021 census, the county has the following population indices:
Religion:
Urbanisation – 5th most urbanised county in Romania:
Traditionally, the biggest minority in the county were Germans, but their numbers have decreased since World War II and especially after the Romanian Revolution of 1989.
The south side of the county, closer to the mountains was mainly inhabited by Romanians (Mărginimea Sibiului), and the north side of the country – the Transylvanian Plateau was inhabited evenly by Germans and Romanians, but most Saxon villages are now deserted by their original ethnic German population. The Roma population, mainly from southern Romania, was placed close to the villages in the communist period and have since increased their numbers, especially in the Hârtibaciu valley.
Most of the population is concentrated in the Sibiu metro area which has over 240 thousand inhabitants, with settlements like Șelimbăr, Cisnădie (especially the Arhitecților neighbourhood), Șura Mare, Șura Mica, Cristian and Roșia having grown in population in the last 15 years, both from internal migration from the county and from other areas, mainly Vâlcea county. Tălmaciu and Avrig are other towns in the area.
Another population centre is the second largest city, Mediaș, with almost 40 thousand inhabitants, which forms a relatively higher population density area than the surrounding northern part of the county, with the nearby towns of Copșa Mică and Dumbrăveni and also communes like Bazna or Târnava.
| Year | County population[3] [4] | |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 335,116 | |
| 1956 | 372,687 | |
| 1966 | 414,756 | |
| 1977 | 481,645 | |
| 1992 | 452,820 | |
| 2002 | 421,724 | |
| 2004 | 423,535 | |
| 2007 | 424,855 | |
| 2011 | 397,322 | |
| 2021 | 388,326 |
This county has a total area of .
In the South side there are the Carpathian Mountains (Southern Carpathians) – the Făgăraș Mountains with heights over, the Lotru Mountains, and the Cindrel Mountains – which make up to 30% of the county's surface. The Olt River crosses the mountains over to the South of Romania in Sibiu County, forming one of the most accessible links between Transylvania and Wallachia. In the North side there is the Transylvanian Plateau.
The most important rivers crossing the county are the Olt in the South with the Cibin as its main effluent, and the Târnava in the North.
Sibiu County has one of the most dynamic economies in Romania, and is one of the regions with the highest level of foreign investment.
The predominant industries in the county are:
The biggest natural resource in the county is natural gas, especially in the north side, having one of the largest sources in the country.
In Copșa Mică during the communist period there were two chemical industrial complexes which polluted the environment heavily with carbon black, heavy metals, and other chemical substances. The area is still considered one of the most polluted communities in Europe. After 1989 many of the industrial complexes were shut down and the area is slowly recovering.
The regional legislature is the County Council. Its president was Martin Bottesch (FDGR/DFDR) from 2004 to 2012. The Sibiu County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 32 counsellors, with the following party composition:[5]
| Party | Seats | Current County Council | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal Party (PNL) | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party (PSD) | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Democratic Forum of Germans (FDGR/DFDR) | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Save Romania Union (USR) | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The main tourist attractions in the county are:
See also: List of settlements in Sibiu County.
Sibiu County has 2 municipalities, 9 towns, and 53 communes
| Official Name: | Județul Sibiu |
| Settlement Type: | County (Județ) |
| Subdivision Type2: | Historic region |
| Subdivision Type3: | Capital city (Reședință de județ) |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1925 |
| Established Title2: | Ceased to exist |
| Area Total Km2: | 3531 |
| Population As Of: | 1930 |
| Population Total: | 194619 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
Historically, the county was located in the central part of Greater Romania, in the southern part of the historical region of Transylvania. The capital was Sibiu.
The interwar county's territory included most of the southwestern portion of today's Sibiu County, excluding the area around Vizocna that belonged to former Hungarian subdivision of Alsó-Fehér County, and the communes of Agârbiciu, Buia, Frâua, Hașag, Șelca Mare, and Șelca Mică, which all belonged to Târnava Mare County. Sibiu County once contained the district around Sebeș, which passed in 1925 to Alba County.
It was bordered to the west by the counties of Hunedoara and Alba, to the north by the counties of Târnava-Mică and Târnava Mare, to the east by Făgăraș County, and to the south by the counties of Gorj and Vâlcea.
The county originally consisted of the city of Sibiu and four districts (plăși):[6]
A subsequent administrative division in 1937 had the county divided into the city of Sibiu and six districts:
According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 194,619, of which 62.0% were Romanians, 29.3% Germans, 4.7% Hungarians, as well as other minorities.[7] In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 52.0% Eastern Orthodox, 27.8% Lutheran, 12.7% Greek Catholic, 4.0% Roman Catholic, 2.2% Reformed (Calvinist), as well as other minorities.[8]
In 1930, the urban population was ethnically divided as follows: 43.8% Germans, 37.7% Romanians, 13.2% Hungarians, 2.7% Jews, as well as other minorities. As a mother tongue in the urban population, German was spoken by 44.7% of the population, followed by Romanian (38.5%), Hungarian (13.7%), Yiddish (1.4%), as well as other minority languages. From the religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 38.8% Lutheran, 31.5% Eastern Orthodox, 12.9% Roman Catholic, 7.5% Greek Catholic, 5.2% Reformed, 2.9% Jewish, as well as other minorities.