Nitra Region

For the historical county of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, see Nyitra County.

The Nitra Region (Slovak: Nitriansky kraj, pronounced [ˈɲitrɪɐnski ˈkraj]; Hungarian: Nyitrai kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. It was first established in 1923 and from 1996 exists in its present borders. It consists of seven districts (okres) and 354 municipalities, of which 16 have a town status. The economy of the region focuses more on agriculture, than in other Slovak regions. Nitra is its seat, largest city, and cultural and economic center.

Nitra Region Nitriansky kraj
Region
From the top to bottom-left; Panoramic view of Nitra, Štúrovo - Bridge of Mária Valéria, Hrušov Castle, Topoľčianky chateau, Topoľčany Castle, Komárno city centre, Levice Castle and Dražovce church
Flag Coat of arms
Nitra Region
Country	Slovakia
Capital	Nitra
Government
• Body	County Council of Nitra Region
• Governor	Branislav Becík (Voice)
Area [1]
• Total	6,343.73 km2 (2,449.33 sq mi)
Highest elevation	943 m (3,094 ft)
Population  (2024)[2]
• Total	665,600
GDP [3]
• Total	€8.801 billion (2016)
• Per capita	€12,925 (2016)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	SK-NI
Website	www.unsk.sk

Geography

This region with a long history is situated in the southwest of Slovakia, mostly in the eastern part of the Danubian Lowland. It is divided into two sub-units: the Danubian Flat in the south-west, with eastern part of the Žitný ostrov island, and the Danubian Hills in the north, centre and east. Mountain ranges reaching into the region are: Považský Inovec in the north-west, where the region's highest point, Veľký Inovec, is located, Tribeč in the north from Nitra, Pohronský Inovec in the north-east and Štiavnické vrchy in the east. Major rivers are the Danube in the south, Váh in the south-west, Nitra in the western-central part, Hron in the east and Ipeľ in the south-east. As for administrative divisions, the region borders Trenčín Region in the north, Banská Bystrica Region in the east, Hungarian Pest in the south-east, Komárom-Esztergom in the south, and Győr-Moson-Sopron county in the south-west and Trnava Region in the west.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	678,733	—
1980	708,634	+4.4%
1991	716,846	+1.2%
2001	713,422	−0.5%
2011	689,867	−3.3%
2021	677,900	−1.7%
Source: Censuses[4][5]

Population statistic (10 years)^[6]

Year	1994	2004	2014	2024
Count	718,358	709,350	684,922	665,600
Difference		−1.25%	−3.44%	−2.82%

Population statistic^[6]

Year	2023	2024
Count	668,301	665,600
Difference		−0.40%

It has a population of 665,600 people (31 December 2024).^[7] The population density in the region is 104.92/km² (271.7/sq mi) (2024),^[8][9] which is very similar to the country's average (110 per km²). The largest towns are Nitra, Komárno, Nové Zámky and Levice.

Ethnicity

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[10][11]

Ethnicity	Number	Fraction
Slovak	484,494	71.46%
Hungarian	160,584	23.68%
Not found out	44,853	6.61%
Total	677,900

In year 2021 was 677,900 people by ethnicity 484,494 as Slovak, 160,584 as Hungarian, 44,853 as Not found out, 5478 as Romani, 4290 as Czech, 1971 as Other, 904 as Russian, 583 as Ukrainian, 524 as German, 481 as Polish, 440 as Rusyn, 386 as Vietnamese, 315 as Italian, 268 as Romanian, 170 as Chinese, 169 as English, 166 as Jewish, 164 as Moravian, 156 as Serbian, 153 as Croatian, 147 as Bulgarian, 120 as Turkish, 115 as Austrian, 114 as Albanian, 77 as Greek, 64 as French, 56 as Canadian, 53 as Irish, 18 as Korean, 16 as Silesian and 7 as Iranian.

Note on population

The difference between the population numbers above and in the census (here and below) is that the population numbers above are mostly made up of permanent residents, etc.; and the census should indicate the place where people actually mainly live. For example, a student is a citizen of a village because he has permanent residence there (he lived there as a child and has parents), but most of the time he studies at a university in the city.

Religion

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[12]

Religion	Number	Fraction
Roman Catholic Church	413,458	60.99%
None	155,832	22.99%
Not found out	47,485	7%
Calvinist Church	24,210	3.57%
Evangelical Church	17,825	2.63%
Total	677,900

In year 2021 was 677,900 people by religion 413,458 from Roman Catholic Church, 155,832 from None, 47,485 from Not found out, 24,210 from Calvinist Church, 17,825 from Evangelical Church, 4204 from Greek Catholic Church, 2763 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 1817 from Ad hoc movements, 1657 from Other, 1522 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 1117 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 975 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 759 from Buddhism, 684 from Baptists Church, 676 from Church of the Brethren, 638 from Apostolic Church, 497 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 462 from Islam, 412 from Old Catholic Church, 309 from United Methodist Church, 181 from Jewish community, 175 from Seventh-day Adventist Church, 112 from Hinduism, 52 from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 50 from Czechoslovak Hussite Church, 22 from Bahá'i Community and 6 from New Apostolic Church.

Economy and climate

The city of Nitra is also the centre of whole region. The region—which is the warmest in Slovakia—reaches a high production of wheat, rye and vegetables. Significant industries are: the food industry, with breweries in Topoľčany, Nitra and Hurbanovo, are machinery (fridges in Zlaté Moravce, shipyards in Komárno) and energy (Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant).

Politics

Current governor of Banská Bystrica region is Milan Belica (Smer-SD). He won with 34,1 %. In election 2017 was elected also regional parliament:

County Council of Nitra region
Type
Type	Unicameral
Houses	County Council
Leadership
Governor	Branislav Becík, Voice
Structure
Seats	54
Political groups	Alliance (18)   Centre-right group[13] (14)   Independent group (11)   Direction/National Party (6)   Voice/We Are Family (5)
Elections
Last election	29 October 2022
Meeting place
Nitra
Website
Council of Nitra region

2017 elections

Main article: 2017 Slovak regional elections

In governor's elections won Milan Belica (Smer–SD) over many another candidates.

Political party		Seats won	+/-	Percentage	Electoral leader [14]
	Coalition led by Smer–SD[15]	17	4	31,48 %	Jozef Dvonč
	Independents	15	11	27,77 %	Peter Oremus
	SMK-MKP	11	3	20,37 %	Miklós Viola
	Centre-right coalition[16]	10	4	18,51 %	Ján Greššo
	ĽSNS	1	1	1,85 %	Milan Uhrík

2013 elections

Main article: 2013 Slovak regional elections

In governor's elections won Milan Belica (Smer–SD) over centre-right candidate Tomáš Galbavý (SDKÚ–DS), who was supported by SaS, OKS, NOVA, Most–Híd, SMK-MKP.

Parties and coalitions			%	Seats	+/-
		Social Democrats	35.19	19	4
		Christian Democrats	24.07	13	6
Smer–SD, KDH			59.26	32	10
		SMK–MKP	25.93	14	1
SMK–MKP			25.93	14	1
		Independents	7.41	4	1
Independents			7.41	4	1
		SDKÚ–DS	1.85	1	8
		Most–Híd	1.85	1	1
		NOVA	1.85	1	1
SDKÚ–DS, OKS, SaS, NOVA, Most–Híd			5.55	3	6
		Nationalists	1.85	1	1
SNS			1.85	1	1

2009 elections

Main article: 2009 Slovak regional elections

In governor's elections won Milan Belica (Smer–SD), who was supported by SDKÚ–DS and KDH.

Political party		Seats won	+/-	Percentage	Electoral leader
	Smer–SD[17]	15	4	27,78 %	Jozef Dvonč
	SMK-MKP	13	4	24,07 %	Arpád Horváth
	SDKÚ–DS[18]	9	4	16,67 %	Tibor Tóth
	KDH[19]	7	0	12,96 %	Ján Vančo
	ĽS–HZDS[20]	7	3	12,96 %	Lýdia Forrová
	Independents	3	3	5,56 %	Anton Marek

2005 elections

Main article: 2005 Slovak regional elections

In governor's elections won Milan Belica, who was supported by ASV, KSS, ĽB, ĽS–HZDS, PSNS, ZSNS. His rival in second round of elections was Ján Greššo (DS, SDKÚ).

Political party		Seats won	+/-	Percentage	Electoral leader
	SMK-MKP	17	14	32,69 %	László Fekete
	Smer–SD[21]	11	9	21,15 %	Juraj Horváth
	ĽS–HZDS[22]	10	10	19,23 %	Jozef Hasilla
	KDH[23]	7	7	13,46 %	Ján Vančo
	SDKÚ[24]	5	5	9,62 %	Tibor Tóth
	SNS[25]	1	1	1,92 %	Igor Varga
	HZD	1	1	1,92 %	Albert Hačko

2001 elections

Main article: 2001 Slovak regional elections

In governor's elections won Milan Belica, who was supported by HZDS, SOP, SDĽ and Centre party. His rival in second round of elections was Miklós Fehér (SMK-MKP).

Political party		Seats won	Percentage	Electoral leader
	SMK-MKP	31	59,62 %	Tibor Bastrnák
	Centre-left coalition[26]	20	38,46 %	Jozef Dvonč
	SNS	1	1,92 %	Peter Lisý

Administrative divisions

The Nitra Region consists of 7 districts. There are 354 municipalities, of which 16 are towns.

District	Area [km2][27]	Population[28]
Komárno	1100.13	98,829
Levice	1551.12	107,992
Nitra	870.71	164,577
Nové Zámky	1347.03	134,231
Šaľa	355.90	49,971
Topoľčany	597.63	69,278
Zlaté Moravce	521.17	40,722

Places of interest

• Nitra with Nitra Castle and Saint Emmeram's Cathedral, Nitra Synagogue, Dražovce church, etc.
• Medieval churches in Kostoľany pod Tribečom and Nitrianska Blatnica
• Chateau and European bison sanctuary in Topoľčianky (Topoľčianska zubria zvernica)
• Šaľa - town with a castle
• The water mill and bridge in Kolárovo
• Komárno with its fortification system, fortress, Elisabeth bridge, etc.
• Iža - Roman military camp Celemantia - UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Štúrovo - Bridge of Mária Valéria
• Levice with Levice Castle, Saint Michael's Church, Levice Town Hall etc.
• Arboretum in Tesárske Mlyňany
• Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area
• Ponitrie Protected Landscape Area

Photo gallery

• 
  Topoľčany Castle
• 
  Nitra
• 
  Saint Emmeram's Cathedral at Nitra Castle, Nitra
• 
  Pribinas Square with statue of Pribina, Nitra
• 
  Nitra
• 
  Nitra synagogue, Nitra
• 
  Dražovce church, Nitra
• 
  Nitrianska Blatnica church
• 
  Kostoľany pod Tribečom church
• 
  Topoľčianky chateau
• 
  European bison in Topoľčianska zubria zvernica
• 
  Šaľa castle
• 
  Water mill in Kolárovo
• 
  Komárno
• 
  Komárno
• 
  Komárno fortress, Komárno
• 
  Komárno fortification system, Komárno
• 
  Roman military camp Celemantia, Iža (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
• 
  Bridge of Mária Valéria, Štúrovo
• 
  Rotunda in Bíňa
• 
  Levice Castle, Levice
• 
  Levice Town Hall, Levice
• 
  Church of Saint Michael, Levice
• 
  Arboretum Tesárske Mlyňany
• 
  Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area
• 
  Ponitrie Protected Landscape Area

See also

• Nyitra County of the Kingdom of Hungary