Provinces of Bulgaria

Provinces of Bulgaria
Oбласти на България
CategoryUnitary state
LocationRepublic of Bulgaria
Number28 (as of 1999)
Populations101,018 (Vidin) – 1,291,591 (Sofia City)
Areas1,348.90 km2 (520.81 sq mi) (Sofia City)– 7,748.07 km2 (2,991.55 sq mi) (Burgas)
Government
Subdivisions

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

Since 1999, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 provinces (Bulgarian: областиoblasti; singular: областoblast; also translated as "regions") which correspond approximately to the 28 districts (in Bulgarian: окръгokrǎg, plural: окръзиokrǎzi), that existed before 1987.

The provinces are further subdivided into 265 municipalities (singular: общинаobshtina, plural: общиниobshtini).

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.