Kovdorsky District is an administrative district (raion

Raion

A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...

), one of the five in Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the northwestern part of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk.-Geography:...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Municipally, it is incorporated as Kovdorsky Urban Okrug . It is located to the west of the Kola Peninsula

Kola Peninsula

The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...

. Its administrative center is the town of Kovdor

Kovdor

Kovdor is a town and the administrative center of Kovdorsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, mostly known by its mining industry. Population: -Economy:...

. District's population: Population of Kovdor accounts for 88.4% of the district's population.

Economy

The majority industries in the area are metallurgy and building materials. Mining is also a very important industry, and it was one of the earliest industries in the region. Minerals mined in the district include mica

Mica

The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...

, iron, and vermiculite

Vermiculite

Vermiculite is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat. The expansion process is called exfoliation and it is routinely accomplished in purpose-designed commercial furnaces. Vermiculite is formed by weathering or hydrothermal alteration of biotite or phlogopite...

. Commercial production of mica in the district began in 1934.

Demographics

As of 2010, the district's population is 21,718. The population is declining due to emigration and natural decrease.

Politics

The local representative body is the Council of Deputies of Kovdorsky District. It has eighteen members elected for a term of five years. The Head of the District is the highest executive post and is elected by popular vote for a five-year term.

See also

• Administrative divisions of Murmansk Oblast
  Administrative divisions of Murmansk Oblast
  Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the northwestern part of the country, occupying mostly the Kola Peninsula. The oblast itself was established on May 28, 1938, but some kind of administrative organization of the territory existed here since at least the 13th...