The National Statistical Institute (NSI) published complete and detailed data on the administrative-territorial division of the country as of December 31, 2025. The statistics reveal a drastic imbalance - while a handful of large cities concentrate a huge part of the population and the economy, hundreds of settlements in the countryside literally disappear from the demographic map of the country.
By the end of last year, the Republic of Bulgaria was officially divided into 28 regions and 265 municipalities, in which 3,041 mayoralties were established. The total number of settlements amounted to 5,256, of which only 257 were cities, and villages - 4,999.
According to NSI data, the population in our country is clustering extremely aggressively in just eight municipalities that exceed the 100,000 mark. These are Stolichna, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Ruse, Sliven and Pleven. 41.4% of the entire population of Bulgaria already lives in these eight administrative centers. In order to serve the huge human flow, the largest among them have their own internal division - Sofia is divided into 24 separate districts, Plovdiv operates with 6, and Varna - with 5 districts.
At the exact opposite pole are 147 municipalities in the country, whose population has fallen below the critical minimum of 10,000 people. Although they make up more than half of the municipalities on the map, only 12.5% of Bulgarians live in them.
The absolute demographic bottom is held by the Kyustendil municipality Treklyano, which reports only 495 permanent residents. Slightly above it is the Vidin municipality Boynitsa with its 694 people.
Although the municipality of Ruse categorically retains its place in the elite club of the eight largest in Bulgaria, the trends for the region remain highly negative. Data show that the total population of the district has dropped to 184,251 people, which represents a loss of over 1,800 people in just one year.
However, the real collapse is happening in the neighboring district of Veliko Tarnovo. It is an absolute national record holder in depopulation – exactly 63 villages on its territory are completely deserted and do not have a single permanent resident. Immediately after it is Gabrovo with 60 "ghost" settlements. In total, there are 192 villages without a single person in the country.
The NSI report also covers the classification of territorial units for statistical purposes (NUTS), which is used by the European Union for the allocation of funds and planning of regional policy.
By the end of 2025, Bulgaria is divided into 2 macro-regions (NUTS 1) - Northern and Eastern Bulgaria and South-Western and South-Central Bulgaria. They, in turn, are divided into 6 main statistical regions (NUTS 2), which are key for European funding. At the lowest European level (NUTS 3), the country completely overlaps its 28 administrative regions, which have to cope with the ever-deepening contrasts between crowded centers and dying periphery.
Source: www.dunavmost.com