Румынияның Ботошани облысы

County of Romania

Botoșani County is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neighbouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town (Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani.

Botoșani County is situated between the rivers Siret and Prut, in the northeastern part of Romania, bordering Ukraine to the north and Moldova to the east. To the west and south it has borders with Suceava and Iași counties. It has a total area of , comprising 2.1% of the Romanian territory. The relief is a high plain, between the valleys of the Siret and the Prut, and the latter's affluent, the Jijia River. It has a temperate climate, influenced by the eastern air masses of the continent.

Republic of Moldova in the East – Edineț Raion. Suceava County in the West. Ukraine in the North – Chernivtsi Oblast. Iași County in the South.

This is a predominantly agricultural county; the main industries are the textile industry, the food industry, the electrical components industry, and the glass and porcelain industry. The Centrala hidroelectrică de la Stânca – Costești is one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in Romania. Work on it started in 1973, and it was completed in 1978, at the same time as the Stânca Costești Dam. They are both situated on the Prut River, between Stânca in Botoșani County and Costești, Rîșcani.

During the years between the world wars, the county extended over different territory than currently. It was located in the northeastern part of Romania, in the northeast of the region or Moldavia. The county included the southern part of the present county and the northern part of the current Iași County. It was bordered to the west by the counties of Suceava and Baia, to the north by Dorohoi, to the east by Bălți, and to the south with Iași.

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 218,258 inhabitants, ethnically, 88.8% were Romanians, 9.0% were Jews, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, 89.4% were Eastern Orthodox, 9.2% Jewish, 0.7% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.

In 1930, the county's urban population was 50,320 inhabitants, comprising ethnically 64.9% Romanians, 31.3% Jews, 0.9% Germans, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of Eastern Orthodox (64.5%), Jewish (32.3%), Roman Catholic (2.1%), as well as other minorities.