In the eastern part of Transylvania, Harghita county lies in a depression surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians. 1/3 of its 6639 km2 is covered by forest - mostly pine - which gives an evergreen aspect to the place.
(Refresh: 2011.03.07. 08:43)
Harghita county has been an administrative unit since 1968. Previously, this territory was organized in smaller shires. According to statistical data from 1st July 2009 Harghita county's population is 324,222 and the density is 49.2 persons/km2. The ethnic structure of the population is the following: 84.61% Hungarians, 14.06% Romanians, and 1.18% Roma. In terms of religion: 65.27% are Roman-Catholic, 13.27% Orthodox, 12.65% Calvinist, 7.16% Unitarian and 0.16% Greek-Catholic. 55.8% of the population lives in rural areas (data of 2002 census).
The county is split in the middle by the Gurghiu Mountains and Harghita, the sacred mountain of the Szeklers, which is also the youngest member of the volcanic mountain range of the Eastern Carpathians. Its highest peak is Harghita Mădăraş with a height of 1801 meters. West of it lies the region of Odorhei, and stretching eastwards there are a series of closed depressions (Gheorgheni, and Ciuc) cut through by the rivers Olt and Mureş, these being bounded eastward by the Gurghiu and Ciuc mountains. As the result of its geographical structure the county can be divided into three distinct regions, Odorhei, Ciuc and Gheorgheni, giving the county a colorful image.
