Ilfov (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈilfov]) is thecounty that surroundsBucharest, the capital ofRomania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall ofcommunism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-incomecommuter towns, which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest. Thegentrification of the county is continuing, with many towns in Ilfov, such asOtopeni, having some of the highest GDP per capita levels in the country.
The county has experienced rapid demographic growth in the 21st century, being the fastest growing Romanian county between 2011 and 2021.[3]
The population density is 342.82 per km2. 40% of the population commutes and works inBucharest, although, in recent years, many industrial plants were built outside Bucharest, in Ilfov county. It has an annual growth of about 4%.
The base occupation used to be agriculture. Nowadays, due to the economical growth inBucharest, many companies have opened their offices, production facilities or warehouses in the nearby villages, situated in the Ilfov County, thus making it the most developed county inRomania.
The county has a large surface covered with forests and also due to its lakes, it is a frequent week-end and holiday destinations for the inhabitants ofBucharest.
Most of today's Ilfov County used to be covered byCodrii Vlăsiei, a thick forest, but there were severalDacian settlements, most important beingArgedava, on the right bank of theArgeș River in what is nowPopești, which was the capital of kingBurebista.
The thick forests were useful for retreat during theMigration Age because they were not easy to cross on horseback. In fact, the name of the forest means "the Forests of theVlachs", a name given by theSlavs who inhabited the nearby plains.
The county was named after theIlfov River and it appears for the first time in a 1482 donation act of voivodeVlad Călugărul to the monastery ofSnagov. In earliest documents, it was known asElhov. The name is of Slavic origin (еlьха,alder;-ov,possessive suffix), referring to a river which flowed through an alder forest.[8]
The county has 8 towns and 32 communes. The largest settlements by population arePopești-Leordeni,Voluntari,Chiajna,Bragadiru,Pantelimon,Buftea,Otopeni.[9] These are the only settlements with more than 20,000 residents. Unlike most other areas of Romania, the population in Ilfov County is increasing, as many of the settlements here are seen as suburbs of Bucharest and are increasingly attracting upper-class families. At the 2022 census, 45.19% of the county's population was defined asurban.[10]
Popești-Leordeni is the largest settlement in Ilfov county, with a population of 53,431 at the 2021 census (representing an increase of 31,536 people since 2011, this being the largest population increase of any settlement in Romania between 2011 and 2021).[11]
Voluntari is the second largest settlement, with a population of 47,366 at the 2021 census.[12] It has experienced rapid population growth in recent years. There were serious debates about the city level being awarded to Voluntari in 2004, as it is alleged that it was given in regard to the city's political affiliation, rather than population, development or any other objective features. Despite this, Voluntari did have a population of 30,000 at that time, and many other localities with this population have been given city status in the past.
Chiajna is the third largest settlement in Ilfov county, and one of the fastest growing localities in Romania, with its population having increased from 29,329 people in 2011 to 43,588people in 2022, according to the Romanian population census.[13]
Otopeni was transformed into a town under the communist regime, as part ofNicolae Ceaușescu'ssystematisation policy, with semidetached houses being replaced by four-storey blocks of flats.[14]
Before 1972, Ilfov County used to be one of the largest counties of Romania, but parts of it were added to neighbouring counties and nowadays it is the smallest (excluding the city of Bucharest, which has special status). Between 1981 and 1997, it was called "Sectorul Agricol Ilfov" and it was not a separate county, but subordinate to the capital.
Ilfov County is the only county that has itscapital outside of its territorial area, in Bucharest, which is not part of the actual county. Initially, right after the 1968 reform of the public administration in communist Romania, Ilfov was a larger county, that comprised its present-day territory, the entireGiurgiu County,Bucharest and the western parts of Călărași and Ialomița counties. Later during the communist period, its territory was reduced to its current size and it became one of the sectors of Bucharest. It became again a county in 1997, when its capital was designated to be Bucharest.[15][16]However, in 2005, some plans were proposed that would merge Bucharest with 90 other communes located to up to 40 km outside the city, in Ilfov County and other nearby counties into a "metropolitan area" of Bucharest, similar toGreater London.[17] As of 2011, these plans did not happen, while a debate on the general administrative division of Romania was under way.
According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 999,562 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 84.3% Romanians, 7.0% Jews, 2.5% Hungarians, 1.7% Romanies, 1.5% Germans, as well as other minorities.[19] From the religious point of view, the population was 84.5% Eastern Orthodox, 7.7% Jewish, 3.7% Roman Catholic, 1.3% Greek Catholic, 1.2% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.[20]
In 1930, the county's urban population was 649,429 inhabitants, comprising 77.7% Romanians, 10.8% Jews, 3.7% Hungarians, 2.2% Germans, 1.2% Romanis, as well as other minorities.[19] From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 76.4% Eastern Orthodox, 11.8% Jewish, 5.6% Roman Catholic, 2.0% Greek Catholic, 1.9% Lutheran, 1.1% Reformed, as well as other minorities.[20]
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