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

6.4m people now live in the country, statistics show

NSI: Bulgaria's population continues to shrink

Nearly a quarter of all Bulgarians are over 65

Bulgaria's population was 6,437,360 at the end of 2024, down by 8,121 people (0.13%) from the previous year, according to the National Statistical Institute. All 28 regions recorded negative natural growth.


As of December 31, 2024, there were 1,544,245 people over the age of 65, or 24% of the country's population. There were 901,843 children under the age of 15, or 14%.


The ageing of the population over the years has led to an increase in the average age to 45.3 years. The average age in towns is 44.5 years and in villages 47.6 years. There are 3,765,000 people of working age, or 58.5% of the population. There are 1,970,000 men and 1,795,000 women.


Half of the population (51.7%) lives in the South West and South Central regions. The least populated region is the north-west, with 655,000 people, or 10.2% of the population.




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

Sunny weather with afternoon rain showers expected on Thursday

On Thursday, the minimum temperatures in Bulgaria will be from 4 to 9°C . In Sofia it will be around 7°C. During the day, sunny weather will prevail. In places, mainly in Northern Bulgaria and the mountains, there will be short-term precipitation..

published on 4/30/25 7:35 PM

Bulgaria’s President gets into a dispute with the leader of GERB over new F-16 jets

GERB Leader Boyko Borissov and President Rumen Radev got into a dispute in the media over the country's new F-16 fighter jets, the first of which is already on Bulgarian soil, while the second is on its way to the country. "We paid a lot for the..

published on 4/30/25 6:25 PM
Petar Chobanov

25% of household deposits are now in euros

The preparation of the migration of card payments from Bulgarian leva to euros and the corresponding accession by the end of the year of the BORICA card payment system to TARGET is in an advanced phase, the Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank,..

published on 4/30/25 4:23 PM