In 1991 Bulgaria was separated into nine provinces. These administrative units included the city of Sofia and eight provincial districts: Burgas, Khaskovo, Lovech, Mikhaylovgrad, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Sofiya the region outside the city, and Varna. Each province was named for the city that was its administrative center. Excluding the city of Sofia, the provinces encompassed territories ranging from 10 % of the nation to 18 %, and their population ranged from 8 % to 14 % of the national total. The eight provinces were separated into a total of 273 communities; the city of Sofia was separated into districts. Because this system was accomplished in 1987, references to another type of district, the okrug, remained common in the early 1990s. The new government that took office in 1991 announced that yet another change was needed in Bulgaria's political subdivisions because the 1987 system reflected the discredited policies of the Zhivkov regime.

The population of Bulgaria 2001 estimate is 7,707,500. The 1985 census population was 8,948,650; the consequent decrease was largely caused by emigration. Bulgaria has a population density of 69 persons per sq km. The population became increasingly urbanized after 1945, and today 72 % of the people live in urban areas. About 86 % of the population is classified as ethnic Bulgarian and about 9 % is Turkish. Small groups of Armenians, Roma, Greeks, and Macedonian Slavs also inhabit the nation.