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

Sofia registers decline in population for the first time in 30 years

Sofia's Vitosha boulevard
Photo: BGNES

At the end of 2020, the population of Bulgaria was estimated at 6.9 million people. This is a decrease of 2.1 million people, or 23% compared to 1990. 

During this period, Sofia was the only city that increased its population from 1.12 million people in 1990 to 1.33 million people in 2019

In 2020, Sofia residents decreased by 1.53%, or 20,378 people to 1,308,412 inhabitants. This has not happened since 2001, when Sofia's population fell to 1.09 million people. But then it continued to grow.

According to experts, the data of the National Statistical Institute clearly show that the Bulgaria's smaller towns and villages no longer have the resources to supply Sofia with new residents. 

The pandemic made remote work possible and reduced the attractiveness of the city,  investor.bg writes.



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

Snow and rain across the country on Saturday

On Saturday, cold air will bring temperatures down. It will be cloudy. There will be rainfalls and snowfalls in the northwestern regions. There will be rainfalls in the eastern regions of the country. The wind will be moderate to..

published on 1/10/25 6:55 PM

Sofia Municipality and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to make a registry of the homeless

The Sofia Municipality and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will create a register of homeless people in Sofia. The initiative comes from the Institute of Population and Human Research of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which is participating in a..

published on 1/10/25 4:51 PM

Regular government may be formed next week

The co-chairman of the parliamentary group of “BSP-United Left”, Atanas Zafirov, expressed hope that this country would have a regular cabinet next week. “Today and tomorrow are important days, I hope that this knot will..

published on 1/10/25 4:12 PM