The Prešov Region (Slovak: Prešovský kraj, pronounced [ˈpreʂɔwskiː ˈkraj]; Hungarian: Eperjesi kerület), also Priashiv Region[4] (Ukrainian: Пряшівський край, romanized: Priashivskyi krai, pronounced [ˈprʲɑʃiu̯sʲkɪj ˈkrɑj]), is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 of which have town status. The region was established in 1996 and is the most populous of all the regions in Slovakia.[5] Its administrative center is the city of Prešov.
Prešov Region
Prešovský Kraj | |
|---|---|
From the top to bottom-left; High Tatras, Levoča, Stará Ľubovňa, Co-Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Prešov, Spišská Kapitula, Stužica primeval forest, Bodružal, Sedielko mountain pass in High Tatras | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Prešov Region | |
| Country |  Slovakia |
| Capital | Prešov |
| Government | |
| • Body | County Council of Prešov Region |
| • Governor | Milan Majerský (KDH) |
| Area | |
• Total | 8,972.65 km2 (3,464.36 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,654 m (8,707 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 810,075 |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €7.451 billion (2016) |
| • Per capita | €9,070 (2016) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | SK-PV |
| Website | www |
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Geography
editIt is located in the north-eastern Slovakia and has an area of 8972.65 km2.[6] The region has a predominantly mountainous landscape. The subdivisions of Tatras – High Tatras and Belianske Tatras lie almost entirely in the region and include the highest point of Slovakia – Gerlachovský štít (2,654 ASL). Other mountain ranges and highlands in the region are Šarišská vrchovina, Čergov, Ondavská vrchovina, Slanské vrchy, Pieniny, Levoča Hills, Laborecká vrchovina, Bukovské vrchy, Vihorlat Mountains and Eastern Slovak Lowland. The basins in Prešov Region are Podtatranská kotlina, Hornádska kotlina and Košice Basin.
Major rivers in the region include the Poprad in the west, which is the only major Slovak river in the Baltic Sea watershed, a small part of Hornád in the south-west, a small part of Dunajec in the north, the Torysa in the centre and the Ondava and Laborec in the east. As for administrative divisions, the region borders on the Lesser Poland and Subcarpathian voivodeships in Poland in the north, Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine in the east, Košice Region in the south, Banská Bystrica Region in the south-west and Žilina Region in the west.
Population
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 605,772 | — |
| 1980 | 678,386 | +12.0% |
| 1991 | 739,264 | +9.0% |
| 2001 | 789,968 | +6.9% |
| 2011 | 814,527 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 808,931 | −0.7% |
| Source: Censuses[7][8] | ||
| Year | 1995 | 2005 | 2015 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 768,719 | 798,596 | 820,697 | 810,075 |
| Difference | +3.88% | +2.76% | −1.29% |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 810,008 | 810,075 |
| Difference | +0.00% |
It has a population of 810,075 people (31 December 2025).[10]
The population density in the region is 90.28/km2 (233.8/sq mi) (2025),[11][12] which is below the country's average (110 per km2). The largest towns are Prešov, Poprad, Humenné, Bardejov and Snina.
Ethnicity
edit| Ethnicity | Number | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| Slovak | 733,064 | 90.62% |
| Romani | 65,161 | 8.05% |
| Rusyn | 49,804 | 6.15% |
| Not found out | 44,783 | 5.53% |
| Total | 808,931 |
In year 2021 was 808,931 people by ethnicity 733,064 as Slovak, 65,161 as Romani, 49,804 as Rusyn, 44,783 as Not found out, 4270 as Czech, 3456 as Ukrainian, 2100 as Other, 1298 as Polish, 1197 as Hungarian, 1062 as German, 892 as Russian, 274 as English, 272 as Vietnamese, 238 as Italian, 137 as Moravian, 136 as Jewish, 134 as Irish, 108 as Chinese, 108 as Canadian, 101 as Bulgarian, 97 as Austrian, 93 as Albanian, 89 as French, 84 as Croatian, 82 as Romanian, 62 as Serbian, 62 as Greek, 50 as Turkish, 22 as Silesian, 4 as Korean and 3 as Iranian.
Note on population: The difference values of population numbers in the table "Population statistic" and in the sections "Ethnicity" & "Religion" is caused by the use of various statistical methods.
Religion
edit| Religion | Number | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic Church | 487,966 | 60.32% |
| Greek Catholic Church | 114,401 | 14.14% |
| None | 85,927 | 10.62% |
| Not found out | 41,728 | 5.16% |
| Evangelical Church | 35,597 | 4.4% |
| Eastern Orthodox Church | 26,993 | 3.34% |
| Total | 808,931 |
In year 2021 was 808,931 people by religion 487,966 from Roman Catholic Church, 114,401 from Greek Catholic Church, 85,927 from None, 41,728 from Not found out, 35,597 from Evangelical Church, 26,993 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 2716 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 2666 from Apostolic Church, 2506 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 1635 from Ad hoc movements, 1353 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 1208 from Other, 780 from Calvinist Church, 754 from Church of the Brethren, 555 from Seventh-day Adventist Church, 467 from Buddhism, 410 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 364 from Baptists Church, 248 from Islam, 216 from United Methodist Church, 142 from Old Catholic Church, 123 from Jewish community, 71 from Hinduism, 41 from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 32 from Czechoslovak Hussite Church, 19 from Bahá'i Community and 13 from New Apostolic Church.
Politics
editThe current governor of Prešov region is Milan Majerský (KDH). He won with 42% of the vote. In the 2017 election a regional parliament was also elected.
County Council of Prešov region | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | County Council |
| Leadership | |
Governor | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 65 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 29 October 2022 |
| Meeting place | |
| Prešov | |
| Website | |
| County Council of Prešov region | |
Population
editAdministrative division
editThe Prešov Region consists of 13 districts. There are 666 municipalities, of which 23 are towns, where about half of the region's population live.
| District | Area [km2][21] | Population[22] |
|---|---|---|
| Bardejov | 935.95 | 75,554 |
| Humenné | 754.23 | 57,846 |
| Kežmarok | 629.82 | 76,376 |
| Levoča | 421.00 | 33,305 |
| Medzilaborce | 427.26 | 10,518 |
| Poprad | 1104.69 | 101,671 |
| Prešov | 933.95 | 176,096 |
| Sabinov | 545.44 | 62,360 |
| Snina | 804.74 | 33,425 |
| Stará Ľubovňa | 707.85 | 53,435 |
| Stropkov | 388.92 | 19,314 |
| Svidník | 549.51 | 30,855 |
| Vranov nad Topľou | 769.23 | 79,320 |
- Population and area values are current for year 2025.
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce [om7015rr_obc=AREAS_SK, v_om7015rr_ukaz=Rozloha (Štvorcový meter)]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
- ↑
- Magocsi, Paul R. (1999). Of the Making of Nationalities There is No End: Speeches, debates, bibliographic works. East European Monographs. p. 130. ISBN 9780880334389.
- Horbal, Bogdan; Krafcik, Patricia Ann; Rusinko, Elaine (2006). Carpatho-Rusyns and Their Neighbors: Essays in Honor of Paul Robert Magocsi. Eastern Christian Publications. p. 82. ISBN 9781892278630.
- Liber, George O. (2016). Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914-1954. University of Toronto Press. p. 269. ISBN 9781442627086.
- ↑ "Demografia Prešovského samosprávneho kraja - VÚC Prešov" (in Slovak). Po-kraj.sk. Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
- ↑ "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce [om7015rr_obc=AREAS_SK, v_om7015rr_ukaz=Rozloha (Štvorcový meter)]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Statistical lexikon of municipalities 1970-2011" (PDF) (in Slovak).
- ↑ "Census 2021 - Population - Basic results". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2021-01-01.
- 1 2 3 4 "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce [om7015rr_obc=AREAS_SK, v_om7015rr_ukaz=Rozloha (Štvorcový meter)]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Population - Basic results". www.scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
- ↑ "Population - Basic results". www.scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
- ↑ "Population - Basic results". www.scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
- ↑ SaS, KDH, ZĽ
- ↑
Independent (8)
STANK (1) - ↑
Independent (8) - ↑
Independent (4)
Chance, PS, DS, ODS, Together (1)
Direction (1)
Republic (1)
Dawn (1) - ↑ "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce [om7015rr_obc=AREAS_SK, v_om7015rr_ukaz=Rozloha (Štvorcový meter)]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
Further reading
edit- Kopa, Ľudovít; et al. (2006). The Encyclopaedia of Slovakia and the Slovaks. Bratislava, Slovakia: Encyclopaedic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. ISBN 80-224-0925-1.
External links
edit
- Prešovský samosprávny kraj - official website