Bulgaria birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in Bulgaria chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in Bulgaria was 1.81 in 2023 and has been below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman since 1980. In 1993, the fertility rate was 1.46 — a +24% increase in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Bulgaria	World
1960	2.31	4.69
1961	2.29	4.56
1962	2.24	5.02
1963	2.21	5.31
1964	2.19	5.13
1965	2.09	5.08
1966	2.03	4.97
1967	2.02	4.87
1968	2.27	4.98
1969	2.27	4.88
1970	2.17	4.84
1971	2.1	4.69
1972	2.03	4.55
1973	2.15	4.42
1974	2.29	4.26
1975	2.23	4.07
1976	2.24	3.97
1977	2.21	3.84
1978	2.15	3.77
1979	2.16	3.76
1980	2.05	3.73
1981	2	3.71
1982	2.01	3.72
1983	2.01	3.59
1984	2.01	3.57
1985	1.97	3.53
1986	2.02	3.51
1987	1.96	3.48
1988	1.97	3.39
1989	1.9	3.35
1990	1.82	3.31
1991	1.66	3.13
1992	1.55	3.04
1993	1.46	2.97
1994	1.37	2.92
1995	1.23	2.87
1996	1.23	2.82
1997	1.09	2.78
1998	1.11	2.75
1999	1.23	2.72
2000	1.26	2.73
2001	1.21	2.69
2002	1.23	2.66
2003	1.26	2.64
2004	1.33	2.63
2005	1.37	2.61
2006	1.44	2.61
2007	1.49	2.6
2008	1.56	2.6
2009	1.66	2.59
2010	1.57	2.57
2011	1.51	2.55
2012	1.5	2.56
2013	1.54	2.53
2014	1.62	2.52
2015	1.64	2.49
2016	1.67	2.49
2017	1.71	2.46
2018	1.73	2.39
2019	1.79	2.35
2020	1.77	2.28
2021	1.8	2.25
2022	1.78	2.22
2023	1.81	2.2
2024	1.81	2.19
2025	1.8	2.18
2026	1.8	2.18
2027	1.8	2.17
2028	1.8	2.16
2029	1.79	2.15
2030	1.79	2.14
2031	1.79	2.13
2032	1.79	2.12
2033	1.79	2.12
2034	1.79	2.11
2035	1.78	2.1
2036	1.78	2.09
2037	1.78	2.09
2038	1.77	2.08
2039	1.77	2.08
2040	1.77	2.08
2041	1.77	2.07
2042	1.77	2.07
2043	1.76	2.07
2044	1.76	2.07
2045	1.76	2.06
2046	1.76	2.06
2047	1.76	2.06
2048	1.76	2.05
2049	1.76	2.05
2050	1.76	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 10.3% were to women under 20 years old, 44% to women ages 20-29, and 45.7% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 20.9%, 67.2%, and 11.9% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in Bulgaria by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	Bulgaria	World
1960	26.1%	37.4%
1961	25.8%	37.5%
1962	25.4%	37.6%
1963	25.1%	37.8%
1964	24.7%	38%
1965	24.2%	38%
1966	23.8%	38%
1967	23.4%	38%
1968	23.2%	37.9%
1969	23%	37.8%
1970	22.8%	37.7%
1971	22.6%	37.6%
1972	22.4%	37.5%
1973	22.3%	37.3%
1974	22.2%	37.2%
1975	22.3%	37.1%
1976	22.3%	36.9%
1977	22.2%	36.7%
1978	22.2%	36.3%
1979	22.1%	35.9%
1980	22.1%	35.5%
1981	22.1%	35.2%
1982	22.1%	34.9%
1983	22%	34.6%
1984	21.8%	34.3%
1985	21.6%	34%
1986	21.4%	33.8%
1987	21.3%	33.6%
1988	21.1%	33.4%
1989	20.8%	33.2%
1990	20.3%	33%
1991	19.8%	32.9%
1992	19.3%	32.7%
1993	18.8%	32.5%
1994	18.3%	32.3%
1995	17.9%	32.1%
1996	17.4%	31.8%
1997	17%	31.5%
1998	16.5%	31.1%
1999	16.1%	30.8%
2000	15.7%	30.4%
2001	15.2%	30%
2002	14.8%	29.6%
2003	14.4%	29.2%
2004	14%	28.8%
2005	13.7%	28.5%
2006	13.5%	28.1%
2007	13.4%	27.9%
2008	13.3%	27.6%
2009	13.4%	27.5%
2010	13.5%	27.3%
2011	13.5%	27.1%
2012	13.6%	27%
2013	13.7%	26.9%
2014	13.8%	26.8%
2015	13.9%	26.6%
2016	14%	26.5%
2017	14.2%	26.4%
2018	14.3%	26.2%
2019	14.4%	26%
2020	14.4%	25.8%
2021	14.5%	25.6%
2022	14.5%	25.3%
2023	14.5%	25%
2024	14.5%	24.7%
2025	14.4%	24.4%
2026	14.3%	24.1%
2027	14.3%	23.8%
2028	14.2%	23.4%
2029	14.1%	23.1%
2030	14%	22.8%
2031	14%	22.6%
2032	13.9%	22.3%
2033	13.8%	22.1%
2034	13.8%	21.9%
2035	13.7%	21.7%
2036	13.7%	21.6%
2037	13.7%	21.5%
2038	13.6%	21.4%
2039	13.6%	21.3%
2040	13.6%	21.2%
2041	13.6%	21.1%
2042	13.6%	21%
2043	13.6%	21%
2044	13.6%	20.9%
2045	13.6%	20.8%
2046	13.7%	20.7%
2047	13.7%	20.7%
2048	13.7%	20.6%
2049	13.8%	20.5%
2050	13.8%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Bulgaria was 26.1% in 1960, 18.8% in 1993, and 14.5% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of Bulgaria.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in Bulgaria, excluding migration, has been -0.79% annually. On average, -52,853 more people died each year than were born.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Bulgaria
1960	76,314
1961	75,460
1962	64,104
1963	66,241
1964	66,783
1965	58,249
1966	54,504
1967	49,861
1968	69,468
1969	63,256
1970	61,125
1971	52,925
1972	47,169
1973	57,760
1974	64,223
1975	54,941
1976	56,055
1977	47,543
1978	44,070
1979	40,599
1980	30,129
1981	29,341
1982	24,077
1983	21,455
1984	20,610
1985	11,649
1986	16,125
1987	8,971
1988	9,879
1989	5,326
1990	-3,487
1991	-14,675
1992	-18,789
1993	-24,569
1994	-32,086
1995	-42,030
1996	-45,159
1997	-58,185
1998	-52,844
1999	-39,411
2000	-41,668
2001	-44,050
2002	-46,240
2003	-44,319
2004	-40,128
2005	-42,124
2006	-39,526
2007	-37,727
2008	-32,967
2009	-26,800
2010	-34,759
2011	-37,477
2012	-40,183
2013	-37,948
2014	-41,027
2015	-44,699
2016	-42,744
2017	-45,583
2018	-46,304
2019	-46,317
2020	-65,507
2021	-90,452
2022	-62,065
2023	-43,837

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in Bulgaria was 6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.006% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a -68.4% decrease compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Bulgaria	World
1985	26	460
1986	25	438
1987	25	429
1988	26	414
1989	25	401
1990	27	391
1991	25	395
1992	25	395
1993	23	389
1994	25	382
1995	23	371
1996	22	366
1997	23	358
1998	20	360
1999	20	340
2000	19	328
2001	17	321
2002	15	311
2003	14	301
2004	14	291
2005	13	283
2006	12	276
2007	11	269
2008	10	264
2009	9	258
2010	9	253
2011	8	247
2012	7	239
2013	7	235
2014	7	231
2015	7	228
2016	7	220
2017	7	215
2018	7	211
2019	6	207
2020	9	211
2021	9	242
2022	10	203
2023	6	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in Bulgaria was 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.61% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 17.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Bulgaria	World
1960	5.47%	18.5%
1961	4.89%	18.1%
1962	4.43%	17.8%
1963	4.08%	17.5%
1964	3.86%	17.7%
1965	3.75%	17.5%
1966	3.7%	17.3%
1967	3.64%	17%
1968	3.54%	16.5%
1969	3.4%	15.5%
1970	3.25%	15.2%
1971	3.11%	15.1%
1972	3.01%	14.4%
1973	2.95%	14.1%
1974	2.91%	13.7%
1975	2.86%	13.4%
1976	2.8%	13%
1977	2.72%	12.5%
1978	2.6%	12.1%
1979	2.49%	11.7%
1980	2.38%	11.4%
1981	2.3%	11%
1982	2.22%	10.8%
1983	2.15%	10.6%
1984	2.07%	10.4%
1985	1.97%	10.1%
1986	1.87%	9.81%
1987	1.8%	9.47%
1988	1.78%	9.31%
1989	1.79%	9.02%
1990	1.83%	8.81%
1991	1.89%	8.66%
1992	1.92%	8.46%
1993	1.92%	8.19%
1994	1.91%	7.98%
1995	1.92%	7.76%
1996	1.94%	7.52%
1997	1.93%	7.28%
1998	1.89%	7.05%
1999	1.82%	6.76%
2000	1.75%	6.48%
2001	1.68%	6.21%
2002	1.6%	5.94%
2003	1.51%	5.65%
2004	1.42%	5.43%
2005	1.33%	5.16%
2006	1.24%	4.92%
2007	1.18%	4.7%
2008	1.14%	4.5%
2009	1.12%	4.31%
2010	1.08%	4.11%
2011	1.04%	3.97%
2012	0.99%	3.77%
2013	0.93%	3.61%
2014	0.87%	3.48%
2015	0.82%	3.35%
2016	0.77%	3.23%
2017	0.73%	3.11%
2018	0.7%	2.97%
2019	0.67%	2.86%
2020	0.65%	2.75%
2021	0.63%	2.66%
2022	0.62%	2.59%
2023	0.61%	2.49%