Ponent

[[File:Organització territorial de les vegueries de Catalunya.svg|thumb|{{unbulleted list

|{{legend2|#f373f3|Ponent}} within Catalonia}}]]

Ponent, also known as the Lleida region following the vegueries law,{{Cite web |title=Document |url=https://dogc.gencat.cat/ca/document-del-dogc/?documentId=777117 |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya |language=ca-ES}} is the westernmost of the eight regions (vegueries) defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It has an area of 5,586 km², and 365,289 inhabitants as of 2022.{{Cite web |title=Idescat. Statistical Yearbook of Catalonia. Population on 1 January. Counties and Aran, areas and provinces. |url=https://www.idescat.cat/indicadors/?id=aec&n=15224&lang=en |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=www.idescat.cat}}

The region includes the comarques of Segrià, Garrigues, Noguera, Pla d'Urgell, Segarra and Urgell. Within Catalonia, it borders to the north with Alt Pirineu, to the east with Central Catalonia, Penedès and Camp de Tarragona, and to the south with Terres de l'Ebre. Outside of administrative terms, the name is sometimes used including the Aragonese comarques of Baix Cinca and La Llitera, which are part of the Catalan-speaking territory in Aragon known as Franja de Ponent.

Its capital is the city of Lleida.

Name

The region's name, inherited from Latin ponentem (putting, setting), refers to the west (of Catalonia).{{Cite web |title=Diccionari de la llengua catalana |url=https://dlc.iec.cat/Results?EntradaText=ponent&OperEntrada=0 |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=dlc.iec.cat}} Other traditional names include Terres de Ponent (Lands of Ponent) and Terra Ferma. Some political sectors have spoken out in favour of{{Cite web |agency=Europa Press |date=2008-11-21 |title=Tots els grups de la Diputació de Lleida demanen al Govern que la vegueria inclogui el terme 'Lleida' |url=https://www.aldia.cat/espanya/noticia-tots-els-grups-diputacio-lleida-demanen-govern-vegueria-inclogui-terme-lleida-20081121181648.html |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=www.aldia.cat}} and against{{Cite web |date=2016-12-02 |title=La CUP reclama la utilització de la denominació Vegueria 'de Ponent' enlloc de 'de Lleida' com defensa la Paeria ! directe!cat |url=http://www.directe.cat/noticia/7213/la-cup-reclama-la-utilitzacio-de-la-denominacio-vegueria-de-ponent-enlloc-de-de-lleida-com-7213 |access-date=2023-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202034813/http://www.directe.cat/noticia/7213/la-cup-reclama-la-utilitzacio-de-la-denominacio-vegueria-de-ponent-enlloc-de-de-lleida-com-7213 |archive-date=2016-12-02 }} the name of the vegueria including the capital's name, those in favour proposing names such as Terres de Lleida, Comarques de Lleida, or Terres Lleidatanes, with the final name being simply the Lleida region.

The region's demonym is ponentí ({{IPA|ca|pu.nənˈti|lang|}}) (pl. ponentins).

Demography

File:Comarques de Ponent.svg The economy is focused on agriculture, although major populations have a large concentration of services and food processing industries. The most important city is Lleida, followed by Balaguer, Tàrrega and Mollerussa. Other important towns are Cervera, Les Borges Blanques, Agramunt, Artesa de Segre, Ponts and, while administratively part of Aragon, the city of Fraga.