October 3 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria’s population shrank by 11.5% in the past decade to 6.52 million, its sharpest decrease registered to date, the statistics office said on Monday, citing final data from a census held last year.
As much as 59.3% of the population decline was due to negative natural population growth. The remaining 40.7% resulted from migration, the statistical office said in a press release.
As of September 7, 2021, people over 65 years accounted for 23.5% of the total population, as their number rose by 12.6% from the previous census in 2011.
People in economically active age fell by 19.1%, forming 62.4% of the total population.
The census, Bulgaria's 18th, was conducted from September 7 to October 10 through both online census software and household visits.
According to the final data, women formed 51.9% of the population, while the share of men stood at 48.1%.