Administrative map of Romania
with Bihor county highlighted

Bihor (Hungarian: Bihar) is a county (Judeţ) in the Crisana region, in Romania, 7 500 km&sup2, and 600 223 hab. The capital city is Oradea (population: 206,527). Its common abbreviation is BH.

Demographics

In 2002, Bihor had a population of 600,223 and the population density was 79.56/km². There were 291,613 males and 308,610 females. The county was inhabited by 969 foreign citizens (0.0016% of the population) in 2002. 48.6% of its population lives in urban areas, lower than the Romanian average.

Ethnicity

The following ethnicities make up the population of Bihor, as of the 2002 census:

• Romanians: 404,537 (67.40%)
• Hungarians: 155,554 (25.91%)
• Gypsies: 30,237 (5.00%)
• Slovaks: 7,361 (1.22%)
• Germans: 1,137 (0.19%)
• Jews: 242
• Ukrainians: 174
• Greeks: 71
• Russians: 63
• Bulgarians: 31
• Serbs: 31
• Polish: 21
• Turks: 15
• Czechs: 14
• Armenians: 11
• Croats: 3

Religion

The following religions make up the population of Bihor, as of the 2002 census:

• Romanian Orthodox: 357,996 (59.6%)
• Reformed: 107,817 (18.0%)
• Roman Catholic: 55,555 (9.3%)
• Pentecostal: 34,460 (5.7%)
• Baptist: 22,366 (3.7%)
• Greek Catholic: 14,086 (2.3%)
• Seventh-day Adventist: 1,858 (0.3%)
• Atheist: 1,155 (0.2%)
• Jewish: 210
• Islam: 175
• Total Protestant: 166,501 (27.7%)

Geography

This county has a total area of 7,544 km².

List of cities in Bihor county

• Oradea
• Salonta
• Marghita
• Beiuş
• Aleşd
• Valea lui Mihai
• Ştei
• Vaşcău
• Nucet
• Săcueni

Communes in Bihor county

This is a list of communes and villages in Bihor county:

• Rontău
• Tileagd
• Nojorid
• Girişu de Criş
• Biharia
• Simian
• Diosig
• Sălard
• Zerind
• Ciumeghiu
• Budureasa
• Băile Felix
• Sânmartin
• Copăcel
• Brusturi
• Cetariu
• Abrămut
• Bratca
• Rieni
• Câmp
• Setche
• Roşia
• Ciuhoi
• Derna
• Spinuş
• Popeşti
• Tăuteu
• Miersig
• Lăzăreni
• Tărcaia
• Tarcea

Economy

Bihor is one of the wealthiest counties in Romania, with a GDP per capita well above the national average. Recently, the economy has been driven by a number of construction projects. Bihor has the lowest unemployment rate in Romania and among the lowest in Europe, with only 1.7% unemployment, compared to Romania's average of 6.5%. In 2003, 25.1% of the population lived in poverty, a figure which is improving and is set to reach 20% in 2005.