The population of Bulgaria is 6,437,360 people as of December 31, 2024, and compared to 2023, the country's population decreased by 8,121 people, or 0.13%, according to data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
All 28 regions have negative natural growth.
At the end of 2024, people aged 65 and over were 1,544,245, or 24.0% of the country's population.
The largest number of pensioners is in Vidin (31.4%), Gabrovo (30.5%) and Smolyan (30.0%). The lowest share of the elderly population is in the districts of Sofia (capital) - 19.2%, Varna - 21.6%, and Sliven - 22.5%.
Children under 15 years of age in the country are 901,843, or 14.0% of the total population.
The aging of the population over the years leads to an increase in its average age, which increases to 45.3 years at the end of 2024. The average age of the population in cities is 44.5 years, and in villages - 47.6 years.
The working-age population as of 31.12.2024 is 3,765 thousand people, or 58.5% of the country's population, with men being 1,970 thousand and women - 1,795 thousand. By the end of 2024 over working age are 1,701 thousand people, or 26.4%, and under working age - 971 thousand people, or 15.1% of the country's population.
By the end of 2024, half of the country's population (51.7%) lives in the South-West and South-Central regions, and the smallest in terms of population is the North-West region - 655 thousand people, or 10.2% of the country's population. In 2024, the population in two statistical regions decreased compared to 2023 - in the North-West by 1.3%, and in the North-Central region by 1.0%. In the remaining statistical regions, the population is growing.
The smallest in terms of population is Vidin district, where 70,542 people live, or 1.1% of the country's population, and the largest is Sofia (capital) district - with 1,295,931 people (20.1%). There are four districts with a population of over 300 thousand people - Sofia (capital), Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas.
Compared to 2023, six districts increased their population, with the largest increase being for Kardzhali and Burgas districts, by 2.0 and 1.2% respectively. Vidin and Smolyan districts recorded the largest decrease - by 1.7% each.
The smallest municipality in the country is Treklyano, where 522 people live.
In 2024 In 2024, 53,727 children were registered in the country, of which 53,428 (99.4%) were live births. Compared to the previous year, the number of live births decreased by 3,769, or 6.6%.
In regional terms, the highest birth rate was in the districts of Sliven - 12.5‰ and Yambol - 10.0‰, the lowest in the districts of Smolyan - 5.2‰ and Pernik - 6.1‰.
The number of deaths in 2024 was 100,736, and the total mortality rate was 15.6‰.
In 2024, 13,002 people changed their current address from the country to abroad, with 55.1% of them being men. Emigrants aged 0 - 14 are 7.7%, those aged 15 - 64 are 82.7%, and those aged 65 and over - 9.6% of all emigrants. The most preferred destinations for emigrants are Germany (16.9%), the United Kingdom (13.9%) and France (8.9%).
In 2024, 52,189 Bulgarian citizens, as well as citizens of other countries who have received a residence permit or status in the country, changed their usual place of residence from abroad to Bulgaria, of which 51.5% are citizens of countries outside the European Union, 34.9% have Bulgarian citizenship, and 13.6% are citizens of EU countries. The highest share of immigrants is from Turkey (21.8%), Ukraine (16.6%) and Syria (10.5%).
In 2024, all districts in the country have negative natural growth. The districts with the lowest coefficients of negative natural growth are Sofia (capital) (-2.0‰), Sliven (-2.8‰) and Blagoevgrad (-5.1‰).
The district with the largest population decrease due to the high negative natural growth is Vidin - minus 17.2‰, followed by the districts of Pernik - minus 14.8‰, and Gabrovo - minus 14.6‰.