Today most of the Baronnies is part of the "département" Drôme (a part of the "région" Rhône-Alpes). Smaller areas in the East and South belong to the "départements" of Vaucluse, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (part of the "région" Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). The area of roughly is sparsely populated; the 1999 census counted only 22,000 inhabitants. Since the 17th century les Baronnies, especially its eastern parts, suffered from land flight due to harsh economic conditions. Starting in the 1980s land flight has stopped and the population is now increasing especially in and around the towns of Nyons, Buis-les-Baronnies, Mirabel-aux-Baronnies, Faucon and Puymeras. There are plans to create the Parc Naturel Régional des Baronnies. The area is paradise for hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, cycling, mountain biking, horse-riding, hang gliding and paragliding.