Satu Mare County

Satu Mare County
Development region	Nord-Vest
Historic region	Transylvania
Capital city	Satu Mare
Population
• As of 2007	366,270
• Population density	83/km²
Area	4,418 km²
Codes
• Car numbers	SM
• ISO 3166-2:RO	RO-SM
Telephone code	(+40) x61
Web	County Council; Prefecture
	^ x is 2 or 3 depending on the numbering system employed by the phone companies on the market.;

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For other uses of "Satu Mare", see Satu Mare (disambiguation).

Satu Mare County (Romanian: Judeţul Satu Mare, pronounced [ˌsatu ˈmare]; Hungarian: Szatmár megye) is a county (judeţ) of Romania. The capital city is Satu Mare. Besides Romanians (58.8% of the population), Satu Mare features a significant ethnic minority of Hungarians (35.2%).

[edit] Demographics

In 2007, it had a population of 366,270 and the population density was 83/km². ^[2]^[3]

Romanians - 59%
Hungarians - 35%
Romas - 3.5%
Germans - 1.7%
Rusyns, Ukrainians, Slovaks, other

Hungarians are mostly inhabiting the localities along the border with Hungary, but some are also distributed throughout the whole county area.

Year	County population	Romanians	Hungarians	Germans
1880^[4]	194,326	76,668	95,681	13,449
1890	216,158	85,663	114,836	14,030
1900	245,855	93,591	138,086	12,165
1910	267,310	92,264	166,369	6,709
1920	262,937	124,476	81,242	34,982
1948 ^[5]	312,672
1956	337,531	180,930	145,880	3,588
1966	359,393
1977	393,840
1992	400,789
2002	367,281
2007	366,270

[edit] Geography

This county has a total area of 4,418 km².

In the north there are the Oaş Mountains, members of the Eastern Carpathians group. This makes up around 17% of the surface. The balance consists of hills: 20% of the surface - and plains. The Western part of the county is the Eastern part of the Pannonian Plain.

The county is crossed by the Someş River and also Tur River and Crasna River.

The county lies partly in the historical region of Maramureş and partly in the historical region of Crişana.

[edit] Neighbours

SM

Maramureş County in the East.
Hungary in the West - Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County.
Ukraine in the North - Zakarpattia Oblast.
Bihor County and Sălaj County in the South.

It is a member of the Carpathian euroregion.

[edit] Economy

Satu Mare County benefits from its position, close to the border of Romania with Hungary and Ukraine, and it's one of the places which attracts foreign investment in industry and agriculture.

The predominant industries in the county are:

Textiles industry.
Machine and automotive components.
Food industry.
Wood and furniture industry.

[edit] Tourism

The main tourist attractions in the county are:

The "Oaş Country" on the North Eastern side of the county - strong Romanian folk traditions.
The Oaş Mountains.
The cities of Satu Mare and Carei.
Tăşnad Resort.
The fortifications from Ardud and Medieşu Aurit