Varbitsa Municipality (Bulgarian: Община Върбица) is a municipality (obshtina) in Shumen Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in the vicinity of the northern slopes of the Eastern Stara planina mountain to the area of the so-called Fore-Balkan. It is named after its administrative centre - the town of Varbitsa.

Varbitsa Municipality
Община Върбица
Municipality
Varbitsa Municipality within Bulgaria and Shumen Province.
Varbitsa Municipality within Bulgaria and Shumen Province.
Coordinates: 43°0′N 26°43′E / 43.000°N 26.717°E / 43.000; 26.717
Country Bulgaria
Province (Oblast)Shumen
Admin. centre (Obshtinski tsentar)Varbitsa
Area
 • Total419.36 km2 (161.92 sq mi)
Population
 (December 2009)[1]
 • Total10,492
 • Density25/km2 (65/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The municipality embraces a territory of 419.36 km2 (161.92 sq mi) with a population of 10,492 inhabitants, as of December 2009.[1] The area contains the Ticha Reservoir - one of the biggest in the country, developed along the Kamchiya river. It is the reservoir with the largest perimeter in Bulgaria.

Settlements

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Varbitsa Municipality includes the following 16 places (towns are shown in bold):

Town/Village Cyrillic Population[2][3][4]
(December 2009)
Varbitsa Върбица 3,585
Byala Reka Бяла река 1,162
Bozhurovo Божурово 243
Chernookovo Чернооково 547
Ivanovo Иваново 453
Konevo Конево 247
Kraygortsi Крайгорци 209
Kyolmen Кьолмен 84
Lovets Ловец 392
Malomir Маломир 510
Mengishevo Менгишево 449
Metodievo Методиево 393
Nova Byala Reka Нова Бяла река 520
Stanyantsi Станянци 546
Sushina Сушина 308
Tushovitsa Тушовица 844
Total 10,492

Demography

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The following table shows the change of the population during the last four decades.

Varbitsa Municipality
Year 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011
Population 14,116 13,648 11,841 11,249 10,861 10,658 10,492 10,391
Sources: Census 2001,[5] Census 2011,[6] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,[7]

Ethnic composition

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According to the 2011 census, among those who answered the optional question on ethnic identification, the ethnic composition of the municipality was the following:

Ethnic group Population Percentage
Bulgarians 919 9.3%
Turks 5597 56.9%
Roma (Gypsy) 2434 24.7%
Other 675 6.9%
Undeclared 220 2.2%

[8]

Religion

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According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:

Religious composition of Varbitsa Municipality [9]
Orthodox Christianity
8.4%
Catholicism
0.1%
Protestantism
6.1%
Islam
74.5%
No religion
1.0%
Prefer not to answer, others and indefinable
9.9%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
  2. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
  3. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian villages under 1000 inhabitants - December 2009
  4. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian Settlements 1000-5000 inhabitants - December 2009
  5. ^ National Statistical Institute - Census 2001
  6. ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and age by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute
  7. ^ Population of Bulgarian divisions
  8. ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
  9. ^ "Religious composition of Bulgaria 2011". pop-stat.mashke.org.
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