As of 1 January 2025, Bulgaria’s population stood at 6,437,360 people — a decrease of 8,121 compared to the beginning of 2024, according to the latest estimates by Eurostat, published to mark World Population Day. For comparison, in 1960, the country’s population was 7,829,246.

The population of the European Union reached 450.4 million, an increase of 1,070,702 people compared to the previous year. This marks the fourth consecutive year of growth following the decline recorded in 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent rise is largely attributed to intensified migration in the post-pandemic period.

Since 2012, the EU has seen a sustained trend where positive net migration has offset the negative natural population change (more deaths than births).

Between 1960 and 2025, the EU population grew by 95.9 million people — from 354.5 million to 450.4 million. However, growth has slowed significantly in recent decades: while the population increased by around 3 million annually during the 1960s, between 2005 and 2024 the average yearly growth dropped to around 0.9 million.

The differences between EU member states remain substantial. Germany (83.6 million), France (15% of the EU population), and Italy (13%) remain the most populous, accounting together for 47% of the EU’s total population. At the bottom of the ranking is Malta, with 0.6 million people.

In 2024, eight EU countries recorded a population decline, with Bulgaria among those reporting the highest negative natural population growth — minus 7.3 per 1,000 people. Only Latvia showed a higher rate (-7.4). In Bulgaria — as well as in Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia — the positive net migration was not sufficient to offset the negative natural change. Latvia was the only country that registered both negative natural change and negative net migration.

The highest population growth rates were recorded in Malta (+19.0 per 1,000 people), Ireland (+16.3), and Luxembourg (+14.7), each of which also reported a positive natural population increase. | BGNES