Balș

Balș (Romanian pronunciation: [balʃ] ^ⓘ) is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna, and Teiș.

The town is situated on the Wallachian Plain and lies on the banks of the river Olteț. It is located in the northwestern part of the county, on the border with Dolj County, 26 km (16 mi) west of the county seat, Slatina.

There are three hypotheses about the town's name:

At the 2002 census, the town had a population of 21,195; there were 20,552 Romanians, 619 Roma, and 27 others. Listed by religion: 21,043 were Eastern Orthodox, 47 Seventh-Day Adventists, 36 Baptists, 19 Pentecostals, 8 Roman-Catholics, 5 Atheists, and 32 other religions. At the 2021 census, Balș had a population of 16,114; of those, 81.73% were Romanians and 6.32% Roma.