Oradea metropolitan area ( or short ZMO) is a metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 located in Western Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, in the County of Bihor

Bihor County

Bihor is a county of Romania, in Crişana, with capital city at Oradea. Together with Hajdú-Bihar County in Hungary it constitutes the Biharia Euroregion.-Demographics:...

, Crişana

Crisana

Crișana is a geographical and historical region divided today between Romania and Hungary, named after the Criș River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru and Crișul Repede....

, Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 and was founded on 9 May 2005.

According to Eurostat

Eurostat

Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...

, in 2007 Oradea had a Larger Urban Zone of 218,518 residents on an area of 125 km².

Composition

The metropolitan area comprises the city of Oradea

Oradea

Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...

 and 8 adjacent communes:

• Biharia
  Biharia
  Biharia is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania. It is composed of two villages, Biharia and Cauaceu . In 2002 it had 5,870 inhabitants, of whom 85.87% were Hungarians, 12.12% Romanians and 1.73% Roma.-History:...
  
  
• Borş
  Bors, Bihor
  Borş is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania. It is composed of four villages: Borş, Santăul Mic , Santăul Mare and Sântion . In 2002, 92.7% of inhabitants were Hungarians, 6% Romanians and 0.9% Roma....
  
  
• Cetariu
  Cetariu
  Cetariu is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania with a population of 2,124 people. It is composed of four villages: Cetariu, Şişterea, Şuşturogi and Tăutelec. It also included three other villages until 2003, when they were split off to form Paleu Commune....
  
  
• Nojorid
• Oşorhei
  Osorhei
  Oşorhei is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania with a population of 5,874 people. It is composed of five villages: Alparea, Cheriu, Felcheriu, Fughiu and Oşorhei.-References:...
  
  
• Paleu
  Paleu
  Paleu is a commune located in Bihor County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Paleu, Săldăbagiu de Munte and Uileacu de Munte. These were part of Cetariu Commune until 2003, when they were split off....
  
  
• Sânmartin
  Sânmartin, Bihor
  Sânmartin is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania with a population of 8,854 people. It is the site of two spas, Băile 1 Mai and Băile Felix.-Villages:The commune is composed of six villages: Betfia, Cihei, Cordău, Haieu, Rontău and Sânmartin....
  
  
• Sântandrei
  Sântandrei
  Sântandrei is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania. It is composed of two villages, Palota and Sântandrei.-References:...
  
  .

Population and ethnic structure

In 2006 the population of the metropolitan area was 240,800.

The population structure comprises:

• 70% Romanians
  Romanians
  The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
  
  
• 24% Hungarians
• 6% Roma and others