Bulgaria's Life Expectancy Rises but Lags Pre-Pandemic Levels

The National Statistical Institute (NSI) data reveals that the anticipated average life expectancy for Bulgaria's populace, projected for the period spanning 2021 to 2023, stands at 73.5 years. This marks a notable uptick of 1.6 years compared to the preceding timeframe of 2020 to 2022. However, it remains slightly below the pre-pandemic levels, surpassing 74 years.

Disparate mortality rates among genders and between urban and rural dwellers delineate the varying average life expectancies across these demographic groups. Specifically, men exhibit an average life expectancy of 69.9 years, while women's longevity extends by 7.4 years to 77.3 years. Yet, compared to 2013, there has been a slight decline in life expectancy for both genders by 1.1 years for men and 0.7 years for women by 2023.

Urban inhabitants, on average, outlive their rural counterparts by 3.1 years, with urbanites clocking in at 74.4 years and rural residents at 71.3 years. Over the past decade, there has been a marginal reduction in life expectancy for both urban and rural populations, dipping by 0.9 years for city dwellers and 1.3 years for those in villages.

Life expectancy exhibits regional disparities, ranging from 70.3 years in the Vidin region to 75.4 years in Sofia (the capital) and Kardzhali regions. Across all regions, women tend to outlive men, with the most significant discrepancy observed in the Vratsa region at 8.5 years, and the smallest in the Shumen region at 6.3 years.

The life expectancy metric serves as an indicative measure of the average lifespan for newborns, operating under the assumption of sustained elderly mortality rates observed within a given year.