Provinces of Bulgaria: Difference between revisions

Provinces of Bulgaria
Oбласти на България
Provinces of Bulgaria; Oбласти на България
Category	Unitary state
Location	Republic of Bulgaria
Number	28 (as of 1999)
Populations	101,018 (Vidin) – 1,291,591 (Sofia City)
Areas	1,348.90 km2 (520.81 sq mi) (Sofia City)– 7,748.07 km2 (2,991.55 sq mi) (Burgas)
Government	Province government, National government;
Subdivisions	Municipality;

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The provinces of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: области на България, romanized: oblasti na Bǎlgariya) are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the country.

Since 1999, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 provinces (Bulgarian: области – oblasti; singular: област – oblast; also translated as "regions") which correspond approximately to the 28 districts (in Bulgarian: окръг – okrǎg, plural: окръзи – okrǎzi), that existed before 1987.

The provinces are further subdivided into 265 municipalities (singular: община – obshtina, plural: общини – obshtini).

Sofia – the capital city of Bulgaria and the largest settlement in the country – is the administrative centre of both Sofia Province and Sofia City Province (Sofia-grad). The capital is included (together with three other cities plus 34 villages) in Sofia Capital Municipality (over 90% of whose population lives in Sofia), which is the sole municipality comprising Sofia City province.

Terminology

The provinces do not have official names – legally (in the President's decree on their constitution^{[clarification needed]}), they are not named but only described as "oblast with administrative centre [Noun]" – together with a list of the constituting municipalities. In Bulgaria they are usually called "[Adjective] Oblast"; occasionally they are referred to as "Oblast [Noun]" and rarely as "oblast with administrative centre [Noun]".

The Bulgarian term "област" (oblast) is preferably translated into English as "province", in order to avoid disambiguation and distinguish from the former unit called "окръг" (okrag, translated as "district") and the term "регион" (always translated as "region"). At any rate, "district" and "region" are sometimes still used to name these contemporary 28 units.

"region": "28 regions (en) / région (fr) / oblast (bg)" – in ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-3 (2011-12-13, corrected 2011-12-15)
"district": "The territory of the South Central Region encompasses five districts – Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Haskovo, and Kyrdzhali." – in a website of the European Commission.^[1]

Provinces

•

Sofia-grad

Black Sea

Danube

North
Macedonia

Greece

Romania

Serbia

Turkey

Province	Population (Census 2011)^[2]	Population (Census 2021)^[2]	Change (2011/2021)^[2]	Land area (km²)	Population density (/km²)	Municipalities	Planning Region
Blagoevgrad	323,552	292,227	-9.7%	6,449.47	45.31	14	South Western
Burgas	415,817	380,286	-8.5%	7,748.07	49.08	13	South Eastern
Dobrich	189,677	150,146	-20.8%	4,719.71	31.81	8	North Eastern
Gabrovo	122,702	98,387	-19.8%	2,023.01	48.63	4	North Central
Haskovo	246,238	211,565	-14.1%	5,533.29	38.23	11	South Central
Kardzhali	152,808	141,177	-7.6%	3,209.11	43.99	7	South Central
Kyustendil	136,686	111,736	-18.3%	3,051.52	36.61	9	South Western
Lovech	141,422	116,394	-17.7%	4,128.76	28.19	8	North Western
Montana	148,098	119,950	-19.0%	3,635.38	32.99	11	North Western
Pazardzhik	275,548	229,814	-16.6%	4,456.92	51.56	12	South Central
Pernik	133,530	114,162	-14.5%	2,394.22	47.68	6	South Western
Pleven	269,752	226,120	-16.2%	4,653.32	48.59	11	North Western
Plovdiv	683,027	634,497	-7.1%	5,972.89	106.22	18	South Central
Razgrad	125,190	103,223	-17.5%	2,639.74	39.10	7	North Central
Ruse	235,252	193,483	-17.8%	2,803.36	69.01	8	North Central
Shumen	180,528	151,465	-16.1%	3,389.68	44.68	10	North Eastern
Silistra	119,474	97,770	-18.2%	2,846.29	34.34	7	North Central
Sliven	197,473	172,690	-12.6%	3,544.07	48.72	4	South Eastern
Smolyan	121,752	96,284	-20.9%	3,192.85	30.15	10	South Central
Sofia City	1,291,591	1,274,290	-1.3%	1,348.90	944.68	1	South Western
Sofia Province	247,489	231,989	-6.3%	7,062.33	32.84	22	South Western
Stara Zagora	333,265	296,507	-11.0%	5,151.12	57.56	11	South Eastern
Targovishte	120,818	98,144	-18.8%	2,558.53	38.35	5	North Eastern
Varna	475,074	432,198	-9.0%	3,819.47	113.15	12	North Eastern
Veliko Tarnovo	258,494	207,371	-19.8%	4,661.57	44.48	10	North Central
Vidin	101,018	75,408	-25.4%	3,032.88	24.86	11	North Western
Vratsa	186,848	152,813	-18.2%	3,619.77	42.21	10	North Western
Yambol	131,447	109,693	-16.5%	3,355.48	32.69	5	South Eastern
Bulgaria	7,364,570	6,519,789	-11.5%	111,001.71	58.73	265

History

In 1987, the then-existing 28 districts (okrags) were transformed into 9 large units (in Bulgarian called oblasts – provinces), which survived until 1999.^[3]

The 9 large provinces are listed below, along with the pre-1987 districts (post-1999 small provinces) comprising them.

1987–1998 oblasts	Comprising former districts (future provinces)
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

On 1 January 1999, the old districts were restored with some modifications, but the designation "oblast" ("province") was kept.

References

^ "South Central Planning Region". European Commission. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bulgaria: Major Cities". citypopulation.de.
^ "Bulgaria – Government Structure". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

[1] "South Central Planning Region". European Commission. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-07.

[census2011-2] "Bulgaria: Major Cities". citypopulation.de.

[3] "Bulgaria – Government Structure". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|First-level administrative subdivisions of Bulgaria}}
 {{Infobox subdivision type
-| name               = Provinces of Bulgaria<br>{{native name|bg|Oбласти на България}}
+| name = Provinces of Bulgaria<br />{{nobold|Oбласти на България}}
-| map                = Regions of Bulgaria Map.png
+| map = Regions of Bulgaria Map.png
-| category           = [[Unitary State]]
+| category = [[Unitary state]]
-| territory          = [[Republic of Bulgaria]]
+| territory = [[Bulgaria|Republic of Bulgaria]]
-| start_date         =
+| start_date =
-| current_number     = 28
+| current_number = 28
-| number_date        = 1999
+| number_date = 1999
-| population_range   = 101,018 ([[Vidin Province|Vidin]]) – 1,291,591 ([[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]])
+| population_range = 101,018 ([[Vidin Province|Vidin]]) – 1,291,591 ([[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]])
-| area_range         = {{Convert|1,348.90|sqkm|abbr=on}} ([[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]])– {{Convert|7,748.07|sqkm|abbr=on}} ([[Burgas Province|Burgas]])
+| area_range = {{Convert|1,348.90|sqkm|abbr=on}} ([[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]])– {{Convert|7,748.07|sqkm|abbr=on}} ([[Burgas Province|Burgas]])
-| government         = Province government, [[Government of Bulgaria|National government]]
+| government = Province government, [[Government of Bulgaria|National government]]
-| subdivision        = [[Municipalities of Bulgaria|Municipality]]
+| subdivision = [[Municipalities of Bulgaria|Municipality]]
-| status             =
+| status =
-| exofficio          =
+| exofficio =
 }}
 {{Politics of Bulgaria}}
-The '''provinces of Bulgaria''' ({{lang-bg|области на България|oblasti na Bǎlgarija}}) are the first level administrative subdivisions of the country.
+The '''provinces of Bulgaria''' ({{lang-bg|области на България|oblasti na Bǎlgariya}}) are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the country.
-Since 1999, [[Bulgaria]] has been divided into 28 provinces ({{lang-bg|области}} – ''oblasti;'' singular: област – ''[[oblast]]''; also translated as "regions") which correspond approximately to the 28 districts (in Bulgarian: окръг – ''[[okrug|okrag]]s'', plural: окръзи – ''okrǎzi''), that existed before 1987.
-{{Bulgaria Provinces}}
+Since 1999, [[Bulgaria]] has been divided into 28 provinces ({{lang-bg|области|links=no}} – ''oblasti;'' singular: {{lang|bg|област}} – ''[[oblast]]''; also translated as "regions") which correspond approximately to the 28 districts (in {{lang-bg|links=no|окръг}} – ''[[okrug|okrǎg]]'', plural: {{lang|bg|окръзи}} – ''okrǎzi''), that existed before 1987.
-The provinces are further subdivided into 265 municipalities (singular: община – ''[[obshtina]]'', plural: общини – ''obshtini'').
+The provinces are further subdivided into 265 municipalities (singular: {{lang|bg|община}} – ''[[obshtina]]'', plural: {{lang|bg|общини}} – ''obshtini'').
-[[File:NUTS BG Level 1 and 2.png|thumbnail|400px|Distribution of provinces by [[NUTS of Bulgaria|NUTS]]: Level 1 (regions): Northern and South-Eastern, South-Western and South-Central; Level 2 (planning regions)]]
-[[Sofia]] – the capital city of Bulgaria and the largest settlement in the country, is the administrative centre of both [[Sofia Province]] and [[Sofia City Province]] (Sofia-[[Grad (toponymy)|grad]]). The capital is included (together with 3 other cities plus 34 villages) in [[Sofia Capital Municipality]] (over 90% of whose population lives in Sofia), which is the sole municipality comprising Sofia City province.
+[[Sofia]] – the capital city of Bulgaria and the largest settlement in the country – is the administrative centre of both [[Sofia Province]] and [[Sofia City Province]] (Sofia-[[Grad (toponymy)|grad]]). The capital is included (together with three other cities plus 34 villages) in [[Sofia Capital Municipality]] (over 90% of whose population lives in Sofia), which is the sole municipality comprising Sofia City province.
 == Terminology ==
+[[File:NUTS BG Level 1 and 2.png|thumbnail|400px|left|Distribution of provinces by [[NUTS statistical regions of Bulgaria|NUTS]]: Level 1 (regions): North Eastern, North Central, North Western, South Central, South Eastern, South Western ; Level 2 (planning regions)]]
-The provinces do not have official names – legally (in the President's decree on their constitution), they are not named but only described as "oblast with administrative centre [Noun]" - together with a list of the constituting municipalities. In Bulgaria they are usually called "[Adjective] Oblast"; occasionally they are referred to as "Oblast [Noun]" and rarely as "oblast with administrative centre [Noun]".
+{{clear}}
+The provinces do not have official names – legally (in the President's decree on their constitution{{what?|date=May 2023}}), they are not named but only described as "oblast with administrative centre [Noun]" – together with a list of the constituting municipalities. In Bulgaria they are usually called "[Adjective] Oblast"; occasionally they are referred to as "Oblast [Noun]" and rarely as "oblast with administrative centre [Noun]".
 The Bulgarian term "област" (''oblast'') is preferably translated into English as "province", in order to avoid disambiguation and distinguish from the former unit called "окръг" (''okrag'', translated as "district") and the term "регион" (always translated as "region"). At any rate, "district" and "region" are sometimes still used to name these contemporary 28 units.
 * "region": "28 '''regions''' (en) / région (fr) / oblast (bg)" – in ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-3 (2011-12-13, corrected 2011-12-15)
-* "district": "The territory of the South Central Region encompasses five '''districts''' – Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Haskovo, and Kyrdzhali." – in a website of the European Commission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/regional-innovation/monitor/base-profile/yugozapadna-i-yuzhna-tsentralna-bulgaria/south-central-planning-region |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-10-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013075738/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/regional-innovation/monitor/base-profile/yugozapadna-i-yuzhna-tsentralna-bulgaria/south-central-planning-region |archivedate=2014-10-13 }} </ref>
+* "district": "The territory of the South Central Region encompasses five '''districts''' – Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Haskovo, and Kyrdzhali." – in a website of the European Commission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Central Planning Region |url=http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/regional-innovation/monitor/base-profile/yugozapadna-i-yuzhna-tsentralna-bulgaria/south-central-planning-region |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013075738/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/regional-innovation/monitor/base-profile/yugozapadna-i-yuzhna-tsentralna-bulgaria/south-central-planning-region |archive-date=2014-10-13 |access-date=2014-10-07 |website=European Commission}}</ref>
 == Provinces ==
+{{Bulgaria Provinces}}
 <!--{| align="center" style="margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em;"
 ! colspan="3" style="background-color:#CDCDCD" align="center"| <span style="font-size:125%;">'''Provinces of Bulgaria'''</span>
@@ Line 40: / Line 47: @@
 |-
 !width="120px"| Province
-!width="100px"| [[Population]] <small>(Census 2001)<ref name="census2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.nsi.bg/census2011/PDOCS2/Census2011final_en.pdf|format=PDF|title=2011 Population Census - main result|website=Nsi.bg|accessdate=15 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="census2011A">{{cite web|url=http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Welcome.aspx|title=Представяме Ви резултатите от Преброяване 2011 за страната, по области и общини :|website=Censusresults.nsi.bg|accessdate=15 October 2017}}</ref></small>
+!width="100px"| [[Population]] <small>(Census 2011)<ref name="census2011">{{Cite web |last= |title=Bulgaria: Major Cities |url=https://citypopulation.de/en/bulgaria/cities/ |access-date= |website=citypopulation.de |via=}}</ref></small>
-!width="100px"| [[Population]] <small>(Census 2011)<ref name="census2011"/><ref name="census2011A"/></small>
+!width="100px"| [[Population]] <small>(Census 2021)<ref name="census2011" /></small>
-!width="120px"| [[Population growth]] <small>(2001/2011)<ref name="census2011"/></small>
+!width="120px"| [[Population growth|Change]] <small>(2011/2021)<ref name="census2011" /></small>
-!width="100px"| [[Land area]] (km²)
+!width="100px"| [[Land|Land area]] (km<sup>2</sup>)
-!width="120px"| [[Population density]] (/km²)
+!width="120px"| [[Population density]] (/km<sup>2</sup>)
 !width="120px"| [[Municipalities of Bulgaria|Municipalities]]
 !width="120px"| Planning<br>Region
 |-
-|align="left"| [[Blagoevgrad Province|Blagoevgrad]]   || 512,118 || 581,854 || +13.6% || 6,449.47 || 90.22 || 14 || South Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Blagoevgrad Province|Blagoevgrad]]   || 323,552 <td> 292,227 </td><td> -9.7% </td><td> 6,449.47 </td>|| 45.31 <td> 14 </td>|| South Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Burgas Province|Burgas]]             || 423,547 || 415,817 || -1.8% || 7,748.07 || 54.58 || 13 || South Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Burgas Province|Burgas]]             || 415,817 <td> 380,286 </td><td> -8.5% </td><td> 7,748.07 </td>|| 49.08 <td> 13 </td>|| South Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Dobrich Province|Dobrich]]           || 215,217 || 189,677 || -11.9% || 4,719.71 || 40.36 || 8 || North Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Dobrich Province|Dobrich]]           || 189,677 <td> 150,146 </td><td> -20.8% </td><td> 4,719.71 </td>|| 31.81 <td> 8 </td>|| North Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Gabrovo Province|Gabrovo]]           || 144,125 || 122,702 || -14.9% || 2,023.01 || 59.77 || 4 || North Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Gabrovo Province|Gabrovo]]           || 122,702 <td> 98,387 </td><td> -19.8% </td><td> 2,023.01 </td>|| 48.63 <td> 4 </td>|| North Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Haskovo Province|Haskovo]]           || 277,478 || 246,238 || -11.3% || 5,533.29 || 61.06 || 11 || South Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Haskovo Province|Haskovo]]           || 246,238 <td> 211,565 </td><td> -14.1% </td><td> 5,533.29 </td>|| 38.23 <td> 11 </td>|| South Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Kardzhali Province|Kardzhali]]       || 164,019 || 152,808 || -6.8% || 3,209.11 || 37.90 || 7 || South Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Kardzhali Province|Kardzhali]]       || 152,808 <td> 141,177 </td><td> -7.6% </td><td> 3,209.11 </td>|| 43.99 <td> 7 </td>|| South Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Kyustendil Province|Kyustendil]]     || 162,534 || 136,686 || -15.9% || 3,051.52 || 45.16 || 9 || South Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Kyustendil Province|Kyustendil]]     || 136,686 <td> 111,736 </td><td> -18.3% </td><td> 3,051.52 </td>|| 36.61 <td> 9 </td>|| South Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Lovech Province|Lovech]]             || 169,951 || 141,422 || -16.8% || 4,128.76 || 34.21 || 8 || North Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Lovech Province|Lovech]]             || 141,422 <td> 116,394 </td><td> -17.7% </td><td> 4,128.76 </td>|| 28.19 <td> 8 </td>|| North Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Montana Province|Montana]]           || 182,258 || 148,098 || -18.7% || 3,635.38 || 41.20 || 11 || North Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Montana Province|Montana]]           || 148,098 <td> 119,950 </td><td> -19.0% </td><td> 3,635.38 </td>|| 32.99 <td> 11 </td>|| North Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Pazardzhik Province|Pazardzhik]]     || 310,723 || 275,548 || -11.3% || 4,456.92 || 62.72 || 12 || South Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Pazardzhik Province|Pazardzhik]]     || 275,548 <td> 229,814 </td><td> -16.6% </td><td> 4,456.92 </td>|| 51.56 <td> 12 </td>|| South Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Pernik Province|Pernik]]             || 149,832 || 133,530 || -10.9% || 2,394.22 || 56.18 || 6 || South Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Pernik Province|Pernik]]             || 133,530 <td> 114,162 </td><td> -14.5% </td><td> 2,394.22 </td>|| 47.68 <td> 6 </td>|| South Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Pleven Province|Pleven]]             || 311,985 || 269,752 || -13.5% || 4,653.32 || 63.98 || 11 || North Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Pleven Province|Pleven]]             || 269,752 <td> 226,120 </td><td> -16.2% </td><td> 4,653.32 </td>|| 48.59 <td> 11 </td>|| North Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Plovdiv Province|Plovdiv]]           || 715,816 || 683,027 || -4.6% || 5,972.89 || 114.35 || 18 || South Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Plovdiv Province|Plovdiv]]           || 683,027 <td> 634,497 </td><td> -7.1% </td><td> 5,972.89 </td>|| 106.22 <td> 18 </td>|| South Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Razgrad Province|Razgrad]]           || 152,417 || 125,190 || -17.9% || 2,639.74 || 47.28 || 7 || North Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Razgrad Province|Razgrad]]           || 125,190 <td> 103,223 </td><td> -17.5% </td><td> 2,639.74 </td>|| 39.10 <td> 7 </td>|| North Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Ruse Province|Ruse]]                 || 266,157 || 235,252 || -11.6% || 2,803.36 || 89.93 || 8 || North Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Ruse Province|Ruse]]                 || 235,252 <td> 193,483 </td><td> -17.8% </td><td> 2,803.36 </td>|| 69.01 <td> 8 </td>|| North Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Shumen Province|Shumen]]             || 204,378 || 180,528 || -11.7% || 3,389.68 || 53.65 || 10 || North Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Shumen Province|Shumen]]             || 180,528 <td> 151,465 </td><td> -16.1% </td><td> 3,389.68 </td>|| 44.68 <td> 10 </td>|| North Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Silistra Province|Silistra]]         || 142,000 || 119,474 || -15.9% || 2,846.29 || 41.74 || 7 || North Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Silistra Province|Silistra]]         || 119,474 <td> 97,770 </td><td> -18.2% </td><td> 2,846.29 </td>|| 34.34 <td> 7 </td>|| North Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Sliven Province|Sliven]]             || 218,474 || 197,473 || -9.6% || 3,544.07 || 54.16 || 4 || South Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Sliven Province|Sliven]]             || 197,473 <td> 172,690 </td><td> -12.6% </td><td> 3,544.07 </td>|| 48.72 <td> 4 </td>|| South Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Smolyan Province|Smolyan]]           || 140,066 || 121,752 || -13.1% || 3,192.85 || 34.47 || 10 || South Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Smolyan Province|Smolyan]]           || 121,752 <td> 96,284 </td><td> -20.9% </td><td> 3,192.85 </td>|| 30.15 <td> 10 </td>|| South Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]]     || 1,170,842 || 1,291,591 || +10.3% || 1,348.90 || 957.44 || 1 || South Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]]     || 1,291,591 <td> 1,274,290 </td><td> -1.3% </td><td> 1,348.90 </td>|| 944.68 <td> 1 </td>|| South Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Sofia Province|Sofia (province)]]    || 273,240 || 247,489 || -9.4% || 7,062.33 || 34.01 || 22 || South Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Sofia Province]]                     || 247,489 <td> 231,989 </td><td> -6.3% </td><td> 7,062.33 </td>|| 32.84 <td> 22 </td>|| South Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Stara Zagora Province|Stara Zagora]] || 370,615 || 333,265 || -10.1% || 5,151.12 || 67.20 || 11 || South Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Stara Zagora Province|Stara Zagora]] || 333,265 <td> 296,507 </td><td> -11.0% </td><td> 5,151.12 </td>|| 57.56 <td> 11 </td>|| South Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Targovishte Province|Targovishte]]   || 137,689 || 120,818 || -12.3% || 2,558.53 || 44.17 || 5 || North Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Targovishte Province|Targovishte]]   || 120,818 <td> 98,144 </td><td> -18.8% </td><td> 2,558.53 </td>|| 38.35 <td> 5 </td>|| North Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Varna Province|Varna]]               || 462,013 || 475,074 || +2.8% || 3,819.47 || 124.40 || 12 || North Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Varna Province|Varna]]               || 475,074 <td> 432,198 </td><td> -9.0% </td><td> 3,819.47 </td>|| 113.15 <td> 12 </td>|| North Eastern</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Veliko Tarnovo Province|Veliko Tarnovo]] || 293,172 || 258,494 || -11.8% || 4,661.57 || 55.19 || 10 || North Central</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Veliko Tarnovo Province|Veliko Tarnovo]] || 258,494 <td> 207,371 </td><td> -19.8% </td><td> 4,661.57 </td>|| 44.48 <td> 10 </td>|| North Central</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Vidin Province|Vidin]]               || 130,074 || 101,018 || -22.3% || 3,032.88 || 32.89 || 11 || North Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Vidin Province|Vidin]]               || 101,018 <td> 75,408 </td><td> -25.4% </td><td> 3,032.88 </td>|| 24.86 <td> 11 </td>|| North Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Vratsa Province|Vratsa]]             || 243,036 || 186,848 || -23.1% || 3,619.77 || 45.59 || 10 || North Western</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Vratsa Province|Vratsa]]             || 186,848 <td> 152,813 </td><td> -18.2% </td><td> 3,619.77 </td>|| 42.21 <td> 10 </td>|| North Western</tr>
-|align="left"| [[Yambol Province|Yambol]]             || 156,070 || 131,447 || -15.8% || 3,355.48 || 31.23 || 5 || South Eastern</tr>
+|align="left"| [[Yambol Province|Yambol]]             || 131,447 <td> 109,693 </td><td> -16.5% </td><td> 3,355.48 </td>|| 32.69 <td> 5 </td>|| South Eastern</tr>
+|-
+!{{BGR}}
+!7,364,570
+!6,519,789
+!-11.5%
+!111,001.71
+!58.73
+!265
+!
 |}
 == History ==
-[[File:Oblasti de Bulgarie 1987-1999.png|thumbnail|300px|Provinces (with ex-districts) in 1987-1999]]
+[[File:Oblasti de Bulgarie 1987-1999.png|thumbnail|300px|Provinces (with ex-districts) in 1987–1999]]
 [[File:Oblasti 1987-1998 by Plamen Tsvetkov.png|thumb|right|300px|Provinces of Bulgaria from 1987 to 1998]]
-In 1987, the then-existing 28 districts were transformed into 9 large units (in Bulgarian called [[oblast]]s - ''provinces''), which survived until 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/bulgaria/47.htm|title=Bulgaria - GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE|website=Countrystudies.us|accessdate=15 October 2017}}</ref>
+In 1987, the then-existing 28 districts ([[okrug|okrags]]) were transformed into 9 large units (in Bulgarian called [[oblast]]s – ''provinces''), which survived until 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bulgaria – Government Structure |url=http://countrystudies.us/bulgaria/47.htm |access-date=15 October 2017 |website=countrystudies.us}}</ref>
 The 9 large provinces are listed below, along with the pre-1987 districts (post-1999 small provinces) comprising them.
 {| class="wikitable"
-! 1987-1998<br/>oblasts !! Comprising former districts (future provinces)</tr>
+! 1987–1998<br/>oblasts !! Comprising former districts (future provinces)</tr>
 | Burgas  || Burgas, Sliven, Yambol</tr>
 | Haskovo || Haskovo, Kardzhali, Stara Zagora</tr>
@@ Line 97: / Line 115: @@
 |}
-On 1 January 1999, the old districts were restored, but the designation ("oblast") "province" was kept.
+On 1 January 1999, the old districts were restored with some modifications, but the designation "oblast" ("province") was kept.
 == See also ==
@@ Line 104: / Line 122: @@
 **[[List of villages in Bulgaria]]
 **[[Municipalities of Bulgaria]]
-*The [[List of Bulgarian constituencies|constituencies of Bulgaria]], which are based on the provinces
+*[[List of Bulgarian constituencies|Constituencies of Bulgaria]], which are based on the provinces
 *[[ISO 3166-2:BG]]
 *[[List of Bulgarian provinces by GDP]]
-*{{in lang|fr}} [[:fr:Liste des gouverneurs des provinces bulgares|Liste des gouverneurs des provinces bulgares]]
+*[[:fr:Liste des gouverneurs des provinces bulgares|Liste des gouverneurs des provinces bulgares]] {{in lang|fr}}
 == References ==
@@ Line 114: / Line 132: @@
 <references/>
+{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries}}
 {{Bulgaria topics}}
 {{Provinces of Bulgaria}}
-{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries}}
 [[Category:Provinces of Bulgaria| ]]
-[[Category:Lists of country subdivisions|Bulgaria, Provinces]]
+[[Category:Lists of administrative divisions|Bulgaria, Provinces]]
-[[Category:Country subdivisions in Europe|Bulgaria 1]]
+[[Category:Administrative divisions in Europe|Bulgaria 1]]
-[[Category:First-level administrative country subdivisions|Provinces, Bulgaria]]
+[[Category:First-level administrative divisions by country|Provinces, Bulgaria]]
 [[Category:Lists of populated places in Bulgaria]]

v t e First-level administrative divisions in European countries
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia² Austria Azerbaijan¹ Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus² Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia¹ Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan¹ Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia¹ San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey¹ Ukraine United Kingdom
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia² Kosovo Northern Cyprus² South Ossetia² Transnistria
Table of administrative divisions by country ¹ Spans the conventional boundary between Europe and another continent. ² Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia.