[2][3][4] Smolyan Province (Област, Oblast) contains 10 municipalities[5] (singular: община, obshtina; plural: Общини, obshtini).

[13] As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 124,795[2] of which 23.4% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.

The main crops of the region are potatoes (about 30% of the national production), rye and barley; but sheep, pigs and cattle are of greater importance for the agriculture.

In the eastern parts of the province are located more than 20 lead and zinc mines, which form one of the most extensive ore deposits in the Balkans.

In Smolyan there are big plants producing machine tools and other machinery, while textile industry is mainly developed to the east in Nedelino, Zlatograd, Madan and Rudozem.