In 2022 the Population of Bulgaria Shrank by 34,774 People

30,181 fewer people died in Bulgaria in 2022 compared to 2021, when the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic was here. This is shown by the data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). However, the total number of the population of Bulgaria decreased by 34,774 people in just one year and on December 31, 2022 it was 6,447 million. For every 1,000 men there are 1,080 women.

Bulgaria and Latvia have the highest mortality rate among the countries of the European Union - 18.4. The lowest are Ireland - 6.8, and Luxembourg - 7, according to the NSI research.

The number of Bulgarian citizens over 65 is 1.515 million, which is an increase of 0.1% in just one year. Their share is the largest in Vidin, Gabrovo and Kyustendil regions, and the smallest - in Sofia city, Varna and Blagoevgrad. Only Italy and Portugal have older populations in the EU.

In Bulgaria in 2022, 1,250 more boys than girls were born, respectively - 28,923 and 27,673. According to the KPO, the country's birth rate is 8.8 and is better than Italy - 6.8, but it is far behind Ireland - 12, Cyprus - 11.4, France and Sweden - 11 each.

The share of the working-age population (15-64) has shrunk from 60.1% in 2021 to 58.5% in 2022. For information, in 1990 its share was lower - 55.5%, but then the retirement age was below 60 and is now approaching 65 for men.

Only 1.1% of the country's population lives in the Vidin region

The smallest in terms of population is Vidin district, where 72,754 people live, or 1.1% of the population of the country, and the largest is the Sofia city district - 1,280,334 people (19.9%). There are four regions with a population of over 300,000 people, and in the first three of them - Sofia city, Plovdiv and Varna - more than a third...