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

30% of Bulgarians do not live to retire and die before they turn 65

Photo: library

Life expectancy in Bulgaria has increased by a year and a half, according to the latest data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) that compared the period 2021-2023 to 2020-2022. However, in comparison to 10 years ago, life expectancy is decreasing for both women and men. People in cities live 3 years longer than those in villages. 

"Life expectancy is slowly growing, but we are still last in Europe in terms of life expectancy and we are first in terms of mortality," Magdalena Kostova, director of demographic statistics at NSI, has told BNR. She pointed out that premature mortality is twice as high among men. 30% of Bulgarians die before they reach the age of 65. If these negative trends continue, the Bulgarian population would be below 6 million in 2075, Kostova says.



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

Bulgaria rises in global digital quality of life ranking

Bulgaria has climbed to 11th place in this year’s Digital Quality of Life 2025 (DQL) index published by Surfshark, up from 18th last year, BTA reported. The index evaluates countries’ digital well-being across five dimensions: fixed broadband..

published on 11/25/25 9:45 AM
Todor Chobanov

Bulgaria expects the return of over 2,700 antiques from abroad

Around 90% of the antiques seized during an international operation targeting a cultural property trafficking network will be returned to Bulgaria, Deputy Minister of Culture Todor Chobanov told “Nova TV”.   “This is an unprecedented operation in..

published on 11/25/25 9:22 AM
Vladimir Perev

Hate speech in Skopje has led to an attack on journalist Vlado Perev

The journalist and doyen of the Bulgarian community in North Macedonia, Vladimir Perev, was verbally and physically attacked in a shop in Skopje. He himself reported the incident in a publication on the “Tribuna” website. Perev, who is 80 years..

published on 11/25/25 8:56 AM