728
BULGARIA
Area and population of districts, according to census of December 31, 1910 :
1. Burgas .
2. Varna 8. Vidin
4. Vratza
5. Kustendil
6. Plovdiv (Philippo-
polis) .
7. Pleven
Area
Popula- tion
sq. miles
5,409
2,554
3,255
773
867
351,500 329,609 237,571 312,460 231,516
3,288 1,851
447,309 365,S68
8. Rousse (Ruschuk)
9. Sofia .
10. Stara Zagora
11. Tirnovo
12. Sliumla (Chumen)
Total (1910) . Total (1912)
Area
sq. miles 2,135 1,832 6,540 2,502 2,691
Popula- tion
406,313 481,598 442,969 448,197 2S2.601
33,647 I 4,337,513 — 1 4,464,500
The population, divided according to nationality, was as follows in 1910: 3,518,756 Bulgariaus ; 465,641 Turks, 79,429 Rumanians, 43,275 Greeks; 122,296 Gipsies, 40,133 Jews, 3,402 Germans, 2,505 Russians, and 62,076 of other nationalities. The present capital is the city of Sofia, with a population (census, 1910) of 102,812. The other principal towns with population in 1910, are Philippopolis 47,981 ; Ruschuk, 36,255 ; Varna, 41,419 ; Shumla, 22,225 ; Slivno (Sliven), 25,142 ; Plevna (Pleven), 23,049.
The movement of population (the latest available) in the principality in four years has been :
Years
Marriages
Living births j
Still-births
Deaths
Surplus of births
1912 1913 1914 1915
24,734 23,841 53,610
27,920
184.705 107,560 192,567 174,232
1,375
670
1,180
1,251
91.27S 119,964 87,960
86,259
93,427 12,404 104,607
87,973
Religion and Instruction.
The national faith is that of the Orthodox Greek Church, though, in 1870, in consequence of its demand for and acceptance of religious autonomy, the Bulgarian Church was declared by the Patriarch of Constantinople to be outside the Orthodox communion. The church is governed by the Synod of Bishops. There are 1 1 Eparchies or Bishoprics in addition to 4 in Macedonia and 1 in Thrace (suspended at present). The clergy, both Orthodox and of other religious bodies, are paid by the State and also receive fees for services at burials, marriages, &c. Of the population in 1910, 3,643,136 belonged to the Orthodox Church, 602,084 were Mahomedans, 40,070 were Jews, 32,149 were Catholics, 12,270 Gregorian Armenians, 6,254 Protestants. The Mahomedans are mostly in the northern and eastern provinces.
There is a university at Sofia, with four faculties — History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics, Medicine, Law, and Agriculture.
Elementary education is obligatory and free for children between the ages of 7 and 14.
The following are statistics of various classes of State schools in Bulgaria for 1918-19.
Number
Hale
Female
Attendance
Schools
Male
Female
Elementary . Progynmasia Incomplete gymnasia Complete ,, Normal schools . Professional schools
3,592
354
87
46
487
78
|,»7H
765 233 820 1,828 651
6,89d
1,623 337 407
2,867 156
271,206 50,950 11,885 19,431 82,216 7,551
•JOS, 113.'
23,671
8,698
12,460
44,729
4,231
