Province of Lleida

Province of Lleida Província de Lleida (Catalan) Provincia de Lérida (Spanish) Província de Lhèida (Occitan)
Province
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Spain with the Province of Lleida highlighted
Coordinates: 42°00′N 1°10′E / 42.000°N 1.167°E / 42.000; 1.167
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Catalonia
Capital	Lleida
Government
• President	Joan Talarn i Gilabert[2] (ERC)
Area
• Total	12,150 km2 (4,690 sq mi)
• Rank	Ranked 18th
	2.41% of Spain
Population  (2013)
• Total	440,915[1]
• Rank	Ranked 33rd
Official languages	Catalan Spanish Occitan (Aranese)
Parliament	Cortes Generales
Website	www.diputaciolleida.cat

The Province of Lleida (Western Calatan: [ˈʎejða]; Spanish: Lérida [ˈleɾiða]; Aranese: Lhèida [ˈʎɛjda]) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in northeastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Huesca and the country of France and the principality of Andorra. It is often popularly referred to as Ponent (i.e. the West).

Of the population of 414,015 (2007), about 30% live in the capital, Lleida. Some other towns in the province of Lleida are La Seu d'Urgell (the archbishop of which is also the co-prince of Andorra), Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega, and Balaguer. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida.

Located in the Pyrenees, the Aran Valley is a special comarca with greater autonomy and with Aranese, a variety of Occitan, as its official language.

The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is located in this province.

The province enjoys a thriving fruit-growing industry, including pears and peaches.

According to the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, the provinces of Catalonia are due to be superseded by territorial units (unitats territorials) or vegueries based on a more historical political division, and the province of Lleida would become two territorial units: Ponent or Terres de Lleida Vegueria (the entire southern area) and Alt Pirineu i Aran Vegueria (the entire northern part plus the comarca of Cerdanya, part of which is currently in the Province of Girona), the county of Solsona going to the Comarques Centrals (Central Counties) Vegueria. The plan is currently on hold as of 2015.