Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Serious rise in mortality in Bulgaria

Magdalena Kostova
Photo: BGNES

The coronavirus epidemic is one of the reasons for the rise of mortality in Bulgaria. 124,000 Bulgarians died in the past year while the average annual level in the previous 10 years was about 108,000-110,000 people, Magdalena Kostova of the National Statistical Institute has told Nova TV.

According to her, the numbers were similar to those in 1918, when Bulgaria lost 151,000 people because of World War I. Mortality during the peaks of the epidemic was extremely high. At the same time, the birth rate remains low.

For the first time in years, the population of Sofia decreased and this is due to internal migration in March and April last year, when many people changed their address because of the checkpoints. The fastest depopulating cities are in the northwestern regions of Bulgaria.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

One in Five Foreign Workers in Bulgaria Is Uzbek

Illegal recruitment agencies in Uzbekistan are sending workers to Bulgaria with promises of salaries of 5,000 leva (€2,560) . The reality often discourages them from staying, leaving employers at a loss. Officials, employer organisations and businesses..

published on 11/13/25 8:34 PM
CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov

Unions call Bulgaria’s 2026 Budget a “compromise, but feasible"

In an unprecedented move, the Bulgarian government approved the 2026 state budget draft at its meeting toda y without the agreement of employers’ organisations. Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that..

published on 11/13/25 8:14 PM

Sofia hosts the Global Women Leaders Forum 2025

Today, Sofia will host the fifth edition of the Global Women Leaders Forum. The event is organized by the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria.  Themed “Fast and Furious Changing World: Women in the Driving Seat”, the 2025 edition of the forum..

published on 11/13/25 5:50 PM