Provinces of Bulgaria
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Administrative divisions |
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Since 1999, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 provinces (Bulgarian: области, oblasti; singular област, oblast; also translated as "region") which correspond approximately to the 28 districts (okrugs) that existed before 1987. In 1987, near the end of the Communist period, under Todor Zhivkov, the districts were consolidated into nine larger provinces (oblasts), which survived until 1999.[1]
The provinces don't have official names (legally, they are only described in terms of which municipalities they consist of and which city is the administrative centre), but in practice, in Bulgarian they are usually called oblast [noun]; this is a recent trend, though, and occasionally they are still referred to as [adjective] oblast, and rarely as "oblast with administrative centre [noun]". In the case of Sofia Province and Sofia-grad, the city of Sofia is the administrative centre of both, but Sofia municipality (almost all of whose population lives in the city of Sofia) is only included in Sofia-grad and is the sole municipality comprising that province.
The provinces are further subdivided into 264 municipalities (община, obshtina).
| Province | Population (Census 2001)[2][3] | Population (Census 2011)[2][3] | Population growth (2001/2011)[2] | Land area (km²) | Population density (/km²) | Municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blagoevgrad | 341,173 | 323,552 | -5.2% | 6,449.47 | 49.95 | 14 |
| Burgas | 423,547 | 415,817 | -1.8% | 7,748.07 | 54.58 | 13 |
| Dobrich | 215,217 | 189,677 | -11.9% | 4,719.71 | 40.36 | 8 |
| Gabrovo | 144,125 | 122,702 | -14.9% | 2,023.01 | 59.77 | 4 |
| Haskovo | 277,478 | 246,238 | -11.3% | 5,533.29 | 61.06 | 11 |
| Kardzhali | 164,019 | 152,808 | -6.8% | 3,209.11 | 37.90 | 7 |
| Kyustendil | 162,534 | 136,686 | -15.9% | 3,051.52 | 45.16 | 9 |
| Lovech | 169,951 | 141,422 | -16.8% | 4,128.76 | 34.21 | 8 |
| Montana | 182,258 | 148,098 | -18.7% | 3,635.38 | 41.20 | 11 |
| Pazardzhik | 310,723 | 275,548 | -11.3% | 4,456.92 | 62.72 | 11 |
| Pernik | 149,832 | 133,530 | -10.9% | 2,394.22 | 56.18 | 6 |
| Pleven | 311,985 | 269,752 | -13.5% | 4,653.32 | 63.98 | 11 |
| Plovdiv | 715,816 | 683,027 | -4.6% | 5,972.89 | 114.35 | 18 |
| Razgrad | 152,417 | 125,190 | -17.9% | 2,639.74 | 47.28 | 7 |
| Ruse | 266,157 | 235,252 | -11.6% | 2,803.36 | 89.93 | 8 |
| Shumen | 204,378 | 180,528 | -11.7% | 3,389.68 | 53.65 | 10 |
| Silistra | 142,000 | 119,474 | -15.9% | 2,846.29 | 41.74 | 7 |
| Sliven | 218,474 | 197,473 | -9.6% | 3,544.07 | 54.16 | 4 |
| Smolyan | 140,066 | 121,752 | -13.1% | 3,192.85 | 34.47 | 10 |
| Sofia-grad | 1,170,842 | 1,291,591 | +10.3% | 1,348.90 | 957.44 | 1 |
| Sofia (province) | 273,240 | 247,489 | -9.4% | 7,062.33 | 34.01 | 22 |
| Stara Zagora | 370,615 | 333,265 | -10.1% | 5,151.12 | 67.20 | 11 |
| Targovishte | 137,689 | 120,818 | -12.3% | 2,558.53 | 44.17 | 5 |
| Varna | 462,013 | 475,074 | +2.8% | 3,819.47 | 124.40 | 12 |
| Veliko Tarnovo | 293,172 | 258,494 | -11.8% | 4,661.57 | 55.19 | 10 |
| Vidin | 130,074 | 101,018 | -22.3% | 3,032.88 | 32.89 | 11 |
| Vratsa | 243,036 | 186,848 | -23.1% | 3,619.77 | 45.59 | 10 |
| Yambol | 156,070 | 131,447 | -15.8% | 3,355.48 | 31.23 | 5 |
History
In 1987, the then-existing twenty-eight districts were transformed into nine large provinces. In 1999, the old districts were restored, but the designation "province" ("oblast") was kept. The nine large provinces are listed below, along with the pre-1987 districts (post-1999 provinces) comprising them.
| 1987-1999 oblasts | Comprising |
|---|---|
| Burgas | Burgas, Sliven, Yambol |
| Haskovo | Haskovo, Kardzhali, Stara Zagora |
| Lovech | Gabrovo, Lovech, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo |
| Montana | Montana, Vidin, Vratsa |
| Plovdiv | Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan |
| Razgrad | Razgrad, Ruse, Silistra, Targovishte |
| Sofia | Sofia City |
| Sofia | Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pernik, Sofia |
| Varna | Dobrich, Shumen, Varna |
Ethnic composition
Ethnic composition of all Provinces of Bulgaria according to the 2011 census:
| Province | Ethnicity | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian | Turkish | Gypsy | |
| Blagoevgrad Province | 89% | 6% | 3% |
| Burgas Province | 80% | 13% | 5% |
| Dobrich Province | 75% | 13% | 9% |
| Gabrovo Province | 92% | 6% | 1% |
| Haskovo Province | 79% | 13% | 7% |
| Kardzhali Province | 30% | 66% | |
| Kyustendil Province | 93% | 0% | 6% |
| Lovech Province | 91% | 3% | 4% |
| Montana Province | 86% | 0% | 13% |
| Pazardzhik Province | 84% | 6% | 8% |
| Pernik Province | 96% | 0% | 3% |
| Pleven Province | 91% | 4% | 4% |
| Plovdiv Province | 87% | 6% | 5% |
| Razgrad Province | 43% | 50% | 5% |
| Ruse Province | 81% | 13% | 4% |
| Shumen Province | 59% | 30% | 8% |
| Silistra Province | 57% | 36% | 5% |
| Sliven Province | 77% | 10% | 12% |
| Smolyan Province | 91% | 5% | 0% |
| Sofia City | 96% | 1% | 2% |
| Sofia Province | 91% | 0% | 7% |
| Stara Zagora Province | 86% | 5% | 8% |
| Targovishte Province | 55% | 36% | 7% |
| Varna Province | 87% | 7% | 3% |
| Veliko Tarnovo Province | 90% | 7% | 2% |
| Vidin Province | 91% | 0% | 8% |
| Vratsa Province | 93% | 0% | 6% |
| Yambol Province | 87% | 3% | 8% |
| Source (2011 census):[4] | |||
See also
- Bulgaria
- Etymological list of provinces of Bulgaria
- List of cities and towns in Bulgaria
- List of villages in Bulgaria
- Municipalities of Bulgaria
- ISO 3166-2:BG
- (French) Liste des gouverneurs des provinces bulgares
References
- ↑ Government Structure of Bulgaria at countrystudies.us, a website affiliated with the Library of Congress
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.nsi.bg/census2011/PDOCS2/Census2011final_en.pdf Census 2011 PDF
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Welcome.aspx Census 2011
- ↑ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (Bulgarian)
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