Zala County
Zala vármegye
County
Landscape in Zala county, near Söjtör
Lake Hévíz from above
Church of Mary Magdalene, Zalaegerszeg
Descending, from top: Hills near Söjtör, Lake Hévíz, and Downtown of Zalaegerszeg
Flag of Zala County
Flag
Coat of arms of Zala County
Coat of arms
Zala County within Hungary
Zala County within Hungary
CountryHungary
RegionWestern Transdanubia
County seatZalaegerszeg
Districts
6 districts
Government
 • President of the General AssemblyDr. Attila Pál (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
 • Total3,783.89 km2 (1,460.97 sq mi)
 • Rank14th in Hungary
Population
 (2018)
 • Total270,634[1]
 • Rank16th in Hungary
GDP
[2]
 • TotalHUF 747 billion
€2.398 billion (2016)
Postal code
8353 – 839x, 874x – 879x, 880x – 883x, 8855, 8856, 886x – 889x, 89xx
Area code(s)(+36) 83, 92, 93
ISO 3166 codeHU-ZA
Websitewww.zala.hu

Zala (Hungarian: Zala vármegye, pronounced [ˈzɒlɒ]; Croatian: Zalska županija; županija Zala) is an administrative county (comitatus or vármegye) in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci and Međimurje Counties) and Slovenia (Lendava and Moravske Toplice) and the Hungarian counties Vas, Veszprém and Somogy. The seat of Zala County is Zalaegerszeg Its area is 3,784 square kilometres (1,461 sq mi). Lake Balaton lies partly in the county.

History

Zala County on an old map

In the tenth century, the Hungarian Nyék tribe occupied the region around Lake Balaton. Their occupation was mainly in the areas known today as Zala and Somogy counties.[3]

Parts of the western territory of the former county of Zala are now part of Slovenia (South-Prekmurje) and Croatia (Međimurje). In 1919 it was part of the unrecognized state of the Republic of Prekmurje, which existed for just six days.

Demographics

Religion in Zala County (2011 census)

  Catholic Church (62.7%)
  Greek Catholic (0.1%)
  Calvinism (2.5%)
  Lutheranism (1.4%)
  Other religions (0.8%)
  Non-religious (8.2%)
  Atheists (0.8%)
  Undeclared (23.5%)

In 2015, it had a population of 277,290 and the population density was 73 inhabitants per square kilometre (190/sq mi).

Year County population[4] Change
1949 305,433 n/a
1960 Increase 317,145 3.83%
1970 Decrease 304,127 -4.10%
1980 Increase 317,298 (record) 4.33%
1990 Decrease 306,398 -3.44%
2001 Decrease 297,404 -2.94%
2011 Decrease 282,179 -5.12%
2015 Decrease 277,290 -1.76%
2018 Decrease 270,634 -2.45%

Ethnicity

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 7,000), Croats (3,500) and Germans (2,000).

Total population (2011 census): 282,179
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[5] Identified themselves: 255 069 persons:

Approx. 38,000 persons in Zala County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:[6]

Regional structure

District of Zala County
No. English and
Hungarian names		 Area
(km2)		 Population
(2011)		 Density
(pop./km2)		 Seat No. of
municipalities
1 Keszthely District
Keszthelyi járás		 535.93 49,421 92 Keszthely 30
2 Lenti District
Lenti járás		 624.12 19,789 32 Lenti 48
3 Letenye District
Letenyei járás		 388.69 16,410 42 Letenye 27
4 Nagykanizsa District
Nagykanizsai járás		 907.91 78,252 86 Nagykanizsa 49
5 Zalaegerszeg District
Zalaegerszegi járás		 1,044.70 102,798 98 Zalaegerszeg 84
6 Zalaszentgrót District
Zalaszentgróti járás		 282.56 15,509 55 Zalaszentgrót 20
Zala County 3,784.11 287,043 77 Zalaegerszeg 258

Politics

The Zala County Council, elected at the 2014 local government elections, is made up of 15 counselors, with the following party composition:[7]

    Party Seats Current County Assembly
  Fidesz-KDNP 9                  
  Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) 4                  
  Democratic Coalition (DK) 1                  
  Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) 1                  

Presidents of the General Assembly

List of presidents since 1990[8]
Attila Pál (Fidesz-KDNP)2014–

Municipalities

Zala County has two urban counties, eight towns, two large villages and 246 villages.

City with county rights

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

Towns
Villages

municipalities are large villages.

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Zala County.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zala County.

46°40′N 16°50′E / 46.667°N 16.833°E / 46.667; 16.833

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