Bistrița-Năsăud County

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Bistrița-Năsăud County

Overview
Bistrița-Năsăud County is a county in Romania, located in Transylvania in the northwest. The capital city is Bistrița. The county covers 5,355 square kilometers.

Geography
About one third of the area is mountains from the Eastern Carpathians (Țibleș, Rodna, Bârgău, Călimani). The rest lies on the Transylvanian Plateau. The Someșul Mare river runs through the county, and the Bistrița River has a large dam and lake.

Neighbors
- East: Suceava County
- West: Cluj County
- North: Maramureș County
- South: Mureș County

Population and people
- Population (2021): 295,988
- Population density: about 55 people per square kilometer
- Ethnic composition (2021): Romanians around 91.6%, Romani about 4.1%, Hungarians about 4.1%, Germans about 0.1%, others about 0.2%
- Religions (2021): Romanian Orthodox about 82.5%, Pentecostal about 9.0%, Reformed about 3.5%, Greek Catholic about 1.6%, Roman Catholic about 0.9%, Baptists about 0.7%, others about 1.4%, irreligious about 0.4%
- Notable towns: Bistrița (capital city) with 78,877 residents (2021)

Economy
- GDP: roughly USD 4.04 billion (2025)
- GDP per capita: about USD 13,649 (2025)

Administrative divisions
- 1 municipality: Bistrița (capital)
- 3 towns: Beclean, Năsăud, Sângeorz-Băi
- 58 communes

History and name
The county lies in Transylvania and has been part of different states over time. In Hungarian it was Beszterce-Naszód megye; in German, Kreis Bistritz-Nassod. It has a long history of administrative changes, with its current Romanian county status established in the modern system.

Natives and culture
Notable people from the area include poets George Coșbuc and Andrei Mureșanu, and writer Liviu Rebreanu.

See also
- Beszterce-Naszód County (historic)
- Via Transilvanica (long-distance trail running through the region)