OLT COUNTY - Geography and history
Located in the southern part of the country, on each side of the Olt river, Olt county has an area of 5 498 km2, representing 2.3% of the country's territory.
As of 31 December 2000, the administrative organisation of this county's territory was the following: 2 municipalities and 5 towns, 94 communes and 378 villages. The county is surrounded by the following counties: Vâlcea, Arges (in the north), Teleorman (in the east), the Danube River (in the south, on 47km) and Dolj (in the west). The county's capital city is Slatina.
Olt county belongs to the two great geography types: the Getic Plateau and Walachian Plain. These two types of geography come together without any significant differences in elevation, with a large range of geography types, grouped into two important categories: the medium geography, represented by the valley and the territory between the rivers, and the small geography, represented all over the geography of the first category. Oriented from west to east, the Danube river's valley has an obvious asymmetrical character, with the right high slope dominating the low plain of the Danube and several vast terraces on the Romanian shore. The Olt river's valley represents a real mountain hydrographical and economic axis of the county and is characterised by the same but reversed morphological asymmetry, with the left slope high and abrupt and the right one prolonged, with vast and unfloodable terraces, good lands for human dwellings and agriculture, as in the Danube's terraces.
The Oltet valley is the second in size in the hydrographical basin of the Olt river. Much narrower along the hills, the valley widens along the Walachian Plain, starting from Bals and lower.
The Boianu Plain covers the biggest part of the territory between the Olt and the Vedea rivers and is included in the Gavanu Plain.
The climate of Olt county is temperate-continental, a little wetter in the north and drier in the south.
From a hydrographical point of view, by size, the Danube river is the longest. The second is the Olt river, crossing the county from north to south on 100 km (of its total length of 670 km from spring to influence).
Archaeological discoveries proved that human settlements occupied this territory since ancient times. Between the present borders, Olt county overlapsthe old counties of Olt and Romanati.
The soil quality considerably varies between the plain and the forests. The cultivated land represents 80.5% of the county's area, ranking 5 in Romania, while forests and other vegetation lands represent 10.6%, on the last position in the South-West Region. With vast fertile lands, Olt county is among the most important farming areas of the country. The vastest areas are covered by chernozem in the Caracal, Boianului and Burnasului Plains. Brown red forest soils cover the right shore of the Olt river, beginning from Gradinari to the confluence of the Olt and Oltet rivers, and the north is mostly covered by podsol. The geography and vegetation variety determined the presence of very numerous species of animals and birds.
Economy
The economic activity of the county included 4 361 active companies in 2000, over 98% with private capital. By their main activity, industry accounted for 12.1%, while services represented 76.2%. Industry is well represented in the area. Most of the companies (ALRO, ALPROM, ARTROM, UTALIM, RULMENTI, ELECTROCARBON, ALTUR, ROMVAG, ROMANITA, PULSOR, SMR, CORAPET etc.) belong to the processing industry on the industrial platform of the main cities of the county and produce: aluminium and aluminium alloys, rolled aluminium, steel pipes, bearings, tyres, electric wires, engine pistons, freight cars, graphite electrodes, car axes and bogies, synthetic yarn and fibres, textiles, and wearing clothes. The food industry units produce: sugar, cheese, butter, bread, and vegetable and fruit cans.
Because the farming area (440 016 ha) represents 80% of the county's total area, agriculture is one of the main activity. Arable land (385 190 ha) represents 87.6% of the county's farming land, pastures account for 7.9% and vineyards and orchards are 4.4% of the county's farming land.
In 2000 the production of grains was 433.3 thousand tons, of which wheat and rye 323.5 thousand tons, barley and two-row barley 43.7 thousand tons and corn 64.0 thousand tons. Average production per hectare of wheat and rye, barley and two-row barley, tomatoes, autumn onion, cabbage, clover are superior to the national averages.
At the end of 2000 there were 53.7 thousand cattle, 112.2 thousand pigs, 179.4 thousand sheep and goats and 2 651 thousand poultry.
The private sector provided with the development of commercial services that include: architecture projects, houses maintenance and repairing, cable television installations etc. The development of the relationships between rapidly flourishing industry and agriculture favoured the extension and modernisation of transports network. Beside the mentioned transports means, Olt county includes a navigable waterway (the Olt river) and a port on the Danube, Corabia.
At the end of 2000 there were 233 km railways, 64 km electrified, with a 42.4 km in 1000 km2 density. Roads network of Olt county at the end of 2000 was 2 036 km long, of which 301 km national roads and 1 735 km county and communal roads.
As of 31 July 2000 Olt county was provided with 11 tourist accommodation structures, among which 7 hotels, and the total accommodation capacity was 973 places, of which 447 places in hotels.
Population and social environment
County's population as of 1 July 2000 was 508 213 inhabitants, 1.8% less than in 1996.
Population density in 2000 was 92.4 inhabitants/km2, compared to 94.1 inhabitants/km2 the country average.
As of 1 July 1996, Olt county's population was 517 597 inhabitants, and population density was 94.1 inhabitants/km2.
County's population average age was 38.1 years, 0.9 years above the country's total average age.
The birth rate in 2000 was 9.9 per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to 10.7 in 1996. Overall mortality in 2000 was of 12.5 per 1 000 nhabitants, compared to 14.6 in 1996. Infant mortality rate in 1996 was 24.3 deaths of children under 1 year per 1 000 live births and 16.5 in 2000.
Marriage rate in 2000 was 5.6 per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to 6.5% in 1996. Divorce rate in 1996 and 2000 was almost equal (0.86% and 0.85 respectively).
Life expectancy between 1998 and 2000 was 66.4 years for males and 73.7 years for females, under country's average rate, for both males and females.
In 1996 employed civilian population was 205.8 thousand persons, agriculture representing 51.8% of this total, industry 21.2%, constructions 4.5% and in services 22.3%. If in 1996, 44.5% of total employed population were females, in 2000 they represented 48.1%.
Late years accounted for significant changes in the labour force market due to the decrease in the number of employed persons in almost all domains of activity, except for agriculture, where labour force increased in 2000, reaching 58.9%. Thus, employed civilian population decreased in 2000 to 194.0 thousand persons. During the same year, the employed population in non-agricultural activities (41.1%) was distributed as follows: 17.2% in industry, 2.7% in construction, 21.2% in services. Of the total employed population, only 38.2% were employees. The average monthly net salary was 2 236.2 thousand lei, 4.5% above the national average, but 1.2% under South-Wets Region's average.
The development rhythm of private sector proved to be not sufficient for creating new jobs for persons who became unemployed. In 1996 were registered 9.4 thousand unemployed persons (46.6% females), representing 1.4% of the country's total registered unemployed persons. Unemployment rate of Olt county was 4.4%, slightly under the country rate (6.6%).
Constant decline of industrial sector led to the doubling of the numbr of unemployed persons registered in 2000. Unemployment rate in 2000 was 9.4%, under the country's 10.5% rate.
The material basis for education in the school year 2000/2001 included: 2 689 classrooms, 315 laboratoriess, 151 workshops and 73 gymnastics halls. The gross rate of enrollment in schools of all levels was 63%.
In 2000 the public health care network in Olt county has been extended, including 7 hospitals with 2 927 beds, 24 medical medical consultation centres, 195 medical cabinets, 6 hospital specialised ambulatories and 7 pharmacies.
In 2000, the development of private health care network led to the increase of health care units, as follows: 21 medical cabinets, 34 dentist clinics, 2 medical laboratories, 10 dental technical laboratoriess, 53 pharmacies, 15 drugstores and 3 medicines warehouses.
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