Tulcea County


Tulcea County is a county of Romania, in the historical region Northern Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea. It includes in its northeast corner the large and thinly-populated delta of the Danube.
WWW prefecturatulcea.ro

Demographics

In 2021, Tulcea County had a population of 193,355. The population density was 22.8/km2, the lowest among the counties of Romania, due to the inclusion within the area of the lowly-populated Danube estuarial wetlands.
In the Danube Delta there is an important community of Russians and Lipovans. In the south of the county there are communities of Turks. The region once was a centre of Islam in Romania.
YearCounty population
1948192,228
1956223,719
1966236,709
1977254,531
1992270,197
2002256,492
2011201,462
[2021 Romanian people|Romanian census|2021]193,355

Ethnicity200220112021
Total256,492213,083193,355
Romanian230,843 180,496 153,094
Lipovan16,350 10,342 8,010
Roma2,272 3,423 3,963
Turks3,334 1,674 993
Ukrainian1,279 1,083 900
Greek1,680 1,181 266
Tatar179 119 106
Bulgarian61 23 34
Others494 14,742 25,989

Geography

The county has a total area of.
The most significant feature of Tulcea County is the Danube Delta, which occupies about one third of the entire surface and is located in the north-east side of the county. The Delta has three main branches: the Sulina branch in the middle, the Chilia branch in the north and the Sfântu Gheorghe branch in the south.
In the south-east of the county there are two lagoons: Lake Razelm and Lake Sinoe. In the Danube Delta and in the south—in the area between the Sfântu Gheorghe Channel and Lake Razelm—there are countless channels and small lakes. The entire area is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and Biosphere reserves.
The Danube River flows around the county in the west and north side. In the west, there is the Măcin Branch which flows on the east side of the Great Brăila Island. From Smârdan to Pătlăgeanca, the Danube has only one large flow of water, around which there is an immense number of lakes and small channels.
In the center of the county, there is the Casincea Plateau and the Măcin Mountains—the remains of a prehistorical mountains range, with the greatest height at about 400 m.

Neighbours

Economy

Agriculture and fishing are the main occupations, involving about 48% of the population. Industry is concentrated in the large towns only.
The predominant industries in the county are:

Tourism

Tourism is an important activity in the county, the Danube Delta being one of the most visited areas in Romania.
The main destinations for tourists are:

Politics

The Tulcea County Council, renewed at the 2024 local elections, consists of 30 counsellors, with the following party composition:
2020 local elections

Administrative divisions

Tulcea County has 1 municipality, 4 towns and 46 communes.
;Municipalities
  • Tulcea — capital city; population: 65,624
;Towns
;Communes

Historical county

Historically, the county was located in the southeastern part of Greater Romania, in the region of north Dobruja. The borders of the historic county coincide with those of the present county. It bordered on the west with Brăila County, northwest with Covurlui County, to the north with Ismail County, to the south by Constanța County, and to the east and south-east with the Black Sea.

Administration

The county was originally divided administratively into four districts :
  1. Plasa Babadag, headquartered at Babadag
  2. Plasa Gurile Dunării, headquartered at Tulcea
  3. Plasa Măcin, headquartered at Măcin
  4. Plasa Topolog, headquartered at Topolog
As in the present day there were five towns : Tulcea, Babadag, Măcin, Isaccea and Sulina.

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 184,038 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 62.6% Romanians, 12.2% Russians, 10.6% Bulgarians, 2.5% Turks, 1.7% Greeks, 1.3% Germans, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the population was 85.8% Eastern Orthodox, 8.3% Old-Rite Lipovan Orthodox, 2.8% Muslim, 1.5% Roman Catholic, 0.6% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population was 41,632 inhabitants, comprising 64.7% Romanians, 12.8% Russians, 5.5% Turks, 4.4% Greeks, 3.3% Bulgarians, 2.5% Jews, 0.8% Germans, as well as other minorities. Mother tongues among the urban population were Romanian, followed by Russian, Turkish, Greek, Yiddish, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 87.5% Eastern Orthodox, 5.7% Muslim, 2.6% Jewish, 1.9% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.