Plovdiv municipal triangle of Plovdiv, including Maritsa municipality and Rodopi municipality. Population of Plovdiv: At the first census after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1880 with 24,053 citizens, Plovdiv is the second largest city behind Ruse, which had 26,163 citizens then, and ahead of the capital Sofia, which had 20,501 citizens then. As of the 1887 census, Plovdiv was the largest city in the country for several years with 33,032 inhabitants compared to 30,428 for Sofia. According to the 1946 census, Plovdiv was the second largest city with 126,563 inhabitants compared to 487,000 for the capital. In its ethnic character Plovdiv
Plovdiv English Language School, the High School of Mathematics, the Ivan Vazov Language School, the National Schools of Commerce Plovdiv, the English Academy, the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts Plovdiv, and the French High School of Plovdiv. The city has six universities and a number of state and private colleges and branches of other universities. Those include Plovdiv University, with 900 lecturers and employees and 13,000 students; the Plovdiv Medical University, with 2,600 students; the Medical College; the Technical University of SofiaBranch Plovdiv; the Agricultural University Plovdiv; the University of Food Technologies; the Academy for Music, Dance and Fine