Zala County

Zala (, ; ; ) is an administrative county (comitatus or "megye") in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci and Međimurje Counties) and Slovenia (Lendava and Moravske Toplice) and the Hungarian counties Vas, Veszprém and Somogy. The capital of Zala county is Zalaegerszeg. Its area is . Lake Balaton lies partly in the county.
History.
In the 10th century, the Hungarian Nyék tribe occupied the region around Lake Balaton. Their occupation was mainly in the areas known today as Zala and Somogy counties.
Parts of the western territory of the former county of Zala are now part of Slovenia (South-Prekmurje) and Croatia (Međimurje). In 1919 it was part of the unrecognized state of the Republic of Prekmurje, which existed for just six days.
Demographics.
In 2015, it had a population of 277,290 and the population density was 73/km².
Ethnicity.
Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 7,000), Croats (3,500) and Germans (2,000).
Total population (2011 census): 282,179
Ethnic groups (2011 census):
Identified themselves: 255 069 persons:
Approx. 38,000 persons in Zala County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.
Religion.
Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:
Politics.
The Zala County Council, elected at the 2014 local government elections, is made up of 15 counselors, with the following party composition:
Municipalities.
Zala County has 2 urban counties, 8 towns, 2 large villages and 246 villages.
 municipalities are "large" villages.