Prahova County - Geography and history
Located on the southern backslopes of the Carpathian Mountains, Prahova county has a territory of 4 716 km2, representing 2% of the national territory. The administrative organisation of the territory, as of 31 December 2000, was as follows: 12 towns and 2 municipalities, 86 communes and 405 villages. Prahova county has as neighbour counties: Brasov (in the north), Buzau (in the east), Ialomita, Ilfov (in the south) and Dâmbovita (in the west). The county's capital city is Ploiesti.
The county's geography is varied and shaped in an amphitheatre, with mountains and hills in the north (26.2% and 36.5% of the total area), and plains in the south (37.3%).
Between the highest point - the Omu Peak (2 505 m) - and the lowest - in the area where the Prahova river debouches (70 m) - there is an altitude difference of 2 435 m.
The mountains are the highest type of geography and they are located in the northern part of the county. Generally, the highest points designate the administrative border between Prahova and Brasov counties. The most important mountains on this county's territory are: The Bucegi Massif, The Gârbova Mountains, The Grohotisu Mountains, The Ciucas Massif and The Tataru Mountains.
A number of large valleys, generally oriented from north to south, fragmentize the mountain area of Prahova county in several compartments with own particularities.
The Subcarpathian hills, as an intermediate stage between mountains and plains, have elevations between 800 - 900 m and 200 - 300 m. The high massifs are separated by valleys. In the Subcarpathians, the valleys are wide and feature a high density of population.
The lowest type of geography of the county, the plain, is usually 100-200 m high, and ascends in some areas up to elevations of 300 m or more along the Prahova river.
The geography is distributed on a difference of elevation of more than 2 400 m. The step-like structure, facing south, also determines a diversity of the climate.
The main collector of the county's rivers is the Prahova river, the basin of which occupies more than three quarters of the county's territory.
The county has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological discoveries in Ploiesti, Ciorani, Ceptura, Budureasa, Mizil, Tomsani, Gherghita, Tinosu, Vadu Sapat, Drajna, Slon etc, attest to the permanence of life and civilisation on this territory. Among the most valuable vestiges are: the famous Golden Beaver of Cotofenesti, dating from Dromichetes' times, the treasury from Coada Malului with figurative fibulae reminding of Burebista's head, the image of the Dacians' flag on the fragment of a clay cup of Budureasa etc.
Famous men such as Vlad Tepes, Neagoe Basarab, Michael the Brave, Matei Basarab, Teodor Diamant, Nicolae Iorga etc. influenced the destiny and the history of this county.
The main natural resources of the county are as follows: oil and natural gas exploited in five oil fields (Copaceni-Gura Vitioarei, Apostolache-Mehedinta-Magurele, Filipestii de Padure-Floresti-Baicoi- Tintea, Podenii Vechi-Boldesti and Urlati-Ceptura), coal (the Silistea Dealului mine, near Filipestii de Padure and the Ceptura mine), salt (the salt massif of Slanic), massif limes and lime malts (Sinaia, Comarnic, Gura Beliei and Sotrile).
Economy
The evolution of the Prahova county's economy was permanently influenced by a number of factors: the significant soil and subsoil richness (oil, salt, coal, natural gas, and lime), the county's location at the intersection of several commercial roads, the human resources and experienced labour force, as well a the existence of several companies.
In 2000 there were 1 1543 active companies, more than 99% with private capital. By their main activity, industry accounted for 10%, while services represented 84.3%
Besides the companies involved in oil extraction (the oil fields of Boldesti, Scaieni, Baicoi), Prahova county asserts itself as one of the most powerful centres in oil processing. In the branch of oil processing about 60% of the county's industrial production is obtained: The industrial petrochemical complex of Brazi, SC PETROTEL LUKOIL SA Ploiesti, SC RAFINARIA ASTRA ROMÂNA SA Ploiesti, SC RAFINARIA VEGA SA Ploiesti, SC STEAUA ROMÂNA SA Câmpina, obtained in 2000 significant amounts of oil products: gasoline 1 644 thousand tons, oil 232 thousand tons, diesel fuels 2 066 thousand tons. The Prahova county's importance to the oil industry is underlined by the fact that, in 2000, for instance, the county carried out 51% of the national gasoline production and 61.6% of the national diesel fuel production.
Besides oil processing, an important role in the county's industry is played by the machine and equipment industry represented by well known companies at a national and international level such as: SC UPETROM SA Ploiesti (oil equipment), SC UZUC SA Ploiesti (chemical equipment), SC TIMKEN SA Ploiesti (hard bearings) etc.
Traditionally, agriculture holds an important place in the county's economy. As compared to the country's area, the agricultural land is only 1.2%, and the arable land is 0.6%, but the agricultural production represents 2.1% of the national total.
The private sector held in 2000 an important share of 86.1% in the total agricultural production, being an increase as compared to 1996 (85.7%). The vegetal production is specific to the Prahova county, and it held, in 2000, a share of 58.9% in the total agricultural production. Farming represents only 41.1%. The livestock at the end of 2000 consisted of 64 thousand cattle, 89 thousand pigs and 147 thousand sheep and goats.
At the end of 2000, Prahova county had a railway network in length of 348 km, of which 163 km were electrified, with a density of 73.8 km per 1 000 km2 of territory, as compared to the 46.2 km/1000 km2 national average.
The length of public roads in 2000 was 2 198 km, of which 293 km were national roads and 1 905 km were county and communal roads. The density of public roads per 100 km2 of territory was 46.6 km, as compared to the 32.9 km national average.
As of 31 July 2000, there were 186 tourist accommodation structures in the county, of which 28 were hotels. The total accommodation capacity was 10 020 places, of which 4 114 were in hotels.
Population and social environment
As of 1 July 2000, Prahova county had 855 539 inhabitants, thus in the second position at a national level after the city of Bucharest, in both number of inhabitants and population density (181 inhabitants per km2).
Of the total population, 444 239 persons (51.9%) live in urban areas and 411 300 persons (48.1%) in rural areas. By gender, males are 415 811 (48.6%) and females are 439 728 (51.4%).
Between 1996 and 2000 the county's population registered a continuous decrease from 868 099 inhabitants in 1996 to 855 539 inhabitants in 2000.
The urban population decreased by 2.3% (from 454 728 inhabitants in 1996 to 444 239 inhabitants in 2000), the rural population decreased by 0.5% (from 413 371 inhabitants in 1996 to 411 300 inhabitants in 2000).
The age structure of the population shows a slow but continuous process of demographic aging . The share of the population aged over 60 years increased from 18.4% on 1 July 1996 to 19.9% on 1 July 2000.
The evolution of the demographic phenomena in 2000, compared to 1996, was characterised by an increase of the birth rate (from 9.3 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 9.7 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000), the decrease of the overall mortality rate (from 12.4 per 1 000 inhabitants to 11.4) and the decrease of the infant mortality rate (from 24.3 per 1 000 live births to 18.3).
The divorce and marriage rate also recorded an increase , the rates per 1 000 inhabitants remaining close to those recorded at a national level.
Between 1998 and 2000 the life expectancy at birth was 67.3 years for males and 75 for females, above the national average, for both males and females.
The civil employed population was, at the end of 2000, 291.1 thousand persons, Prahova county ranking 5th in Romania, with a share of 3.4% in the employed population of the country. Females represented about 46% of the total employment, which means an important participation in the economic and social life of the county.
At the end of 2000, there were 45.5 thousand unemployed persons in Prahova county, compared to the end of 1996 (21.2 thousand unemployed persons). The unemployment rate increased from 5.5%, at the end of 1996, to 13.5% at the end of 2000.
In the 2000/2001 school year, the educational system of Prahova county had a institutional structure with 402 kindergartens, 383 primary and secondary schools, 44 high schools, 2 apprentice schools, 1 post-high-school unit and 2 higher education institutions.
In the field of healthcare services, in 2000, there were 17 hospitals, 17 clinics, 33 medical consultation centres, 3 health centres, 7 nurseries, 257 pharmacies and other types of specialised units (928).
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