Ražanj is a village and municipality located in the Nišava District

Nišava District

The Nišava District expands in the south-eastern parts of Serbia. It has a population of 373,404...

 of Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

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The municipality of Razanj is located in the south east of Central Serbia, 55 km north of Nis, the third largest city of Serbia. It is a small municipality consisting of 23 settlements having a total population of 9,137 inhabitants (1,241 in the town itself). The Municipality covers an area of 289 km2 and belongs to the administrative district of Nišava. Neighboring municipalities are Krusevac, Aleksinac, Soko Banja, Boljevac, Paracin and Cicevac.

In Serbian, "ražanj" means "spit". In the Roman times it was called Cametas.

Economy

62 companies are currently present in the municipality of Razanj. The majority of these are small firms, employing between 1-5 workers, while the rest are companies with 5-50 workers employed. The level of unemployment is higher in the municipality of Razanj than in the other municipalities of the Nišava District. In addition, net earnings are about 26% lower than the national average of the Republic of Serbia. These numbers are partly explained by the fact that the municipality of Razanj has a relatively old population (about 32% of the rural population are older than 60 years). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2007, 1,008 people were employed by state owned companies and institutions, 812 were employed by other organizations and 196 were self employed. Agriculture is the biggest industry in the municipality and currently 5,594 people (49% of the total population) work in agriculture.

Agriculture

The major part of the territory of the municipality of Razanj is covered by arable areas, woodlands come second, fields and meadows come third and then fruit farms and vineyards. The agricultural land covers 59.6% (16,926 ha) of the total territory and is the central industry of the region. Main crops are maize, wheat, barley and oat. Arable areas cover 72.92% of the total agricultural area while the rest are covered by fruit farms (5.02%), vineyards (3.22%) and fields and meadows (16.91%). According to 2007 figures the territory of the municipality Razanj had a cattle population of about 4,000 heads, a swine population of 13,000 heads, a goat and sheep population of 3,500 animals, and a poultry population of about 65,000 hens.

Even if agriculture today is the primary industry of the municipality, it has great future potentials only by making it more market-oriented and efficient. On the territory of the municipality Razanj there are currently more than 1520 registered farms. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2007, 96.60% of the land was privately owned while 2.85% was owned by the state.

Infrastructure

The main transport routes crossing the territories of the municipality of Razanj are the Belgrade-Nis Highway as well as the Belgrade-Nis Railway. The Belgrade-Nis highway is a national key transport route and accordingly a vital transport route for the people living in the municipality of Razanj. Two railroad stations are located within the area of the municipality (Braljina and Djunis). These are connected to the Serbian railroad network through the Belgrade-Nis railroad.

Demographics

Ethnic groups in the municipality (2002 census):

• Serbs = 11,022
• Roma = 182
• others.

External links

• Municipality of Ražanj