Fertility & birth rates in Bulgaria and North Macedonia

Fertility rate in Bulgaria vs North Macedonia chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in Bulgaria was 1.81 children per woman in 2023, compared to 1.5 in North Macedonia in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check Bulgaria vs North Macedonia population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Bulgaria	North Macedonia
1960	2.31	3.83
1961	2.29	3.62
1962	2.24	3.5
1963	2.21	3.62
1964	2.19	3.56
1965	2.09	3.52
1966	2.03	3.43
1967	2.02	3.33
1968	2.27	3.22
1969	2.27	3.1
1970	2.17	3.01
1971	2.1	2.93
1972	2.03	2.87
1973	2.15	2.72
1974	2.29	2.7
1975	2.23	2.69
1976	2.24	2.62
1977	2.21	2.49
1978	2.15	2.42
1979	2.16	2.4
1980	2.05	2.36
1981	2	2.29
1982	2.01	2.29
1983	2.01	2.25
1984	2.01	2.24
1985	1.97	2.25
1986	2.02	2.25
1987	1.96	2.32
1988	1.97	2.32
1989	1.9	2.25
1990	1.82	2.27
1991	1.66	2.31
1992	1.55	2.28
1993	1.46	2.26
1994	1.37	2.23
1995	1.23	2.13
1996	1.23	2.06
1997	1.09	1.92
1998	1.11	1.89
1999	1.23	1.77
2000	1.26	1.86
2001	1.21	1.73
2002	1.23	1.79
2003	1.26	1.75
2004	1.33	1.52
2005	1.37	1.5
2006	1.44	1.46
2007	1.49	1.46
2008	1.56	1.47
2009	1.66	1.5
2010	1.57	1.6
2011	1.51	1.46
2012	1.5	1.5
2013	1.54	1.5
2014	1.62	1.5
2015	1.64	1.49
2016	1.67	1.5
2017	1.71	1.43
2018	1.73	1.42
2019	1.79	1.34
2020	1.77	1.31
2021	1.8	1.6
2022	1.78	1.6
2023	1.81	1.5
2024	1.81	1.5
2025	1.8	1.5
2026	1.8	1.51
2027	1.8	1.51
2028	1.8	1.51
2029	1.79	1.51
2030	1.79	1.52
2031	1.79	1.52
2032	1.79	1.52
2033	1.79	1.52
2034	1.79	1.52
2035	1.78	1.52
2036	1.78	1.53
2037	1.78	1.53
2038	1.77	1.53
2039	1.77	1.53
2040	1.77	1.53
2041	1.77	1.53
2042	1.77	1.53
2043	1.76	1.54
2044	1.76	1.54
2045	1.76	1.54
2046	1.76	1.54
2047	1.76	1.55
2048	1.76	1.55
2049	1.76	1.55
2050	1.76	1.55

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Bulgaria	North Macedonia
1960	26.1%	37.7%
1961	25.8%	37.8%
1962	25.4%	37.6%
1963	25.1%	37.2%
1964	24.7%	36.7%
1965	24.2%	36.3%
1966	23.8%	35.8%
1967	23.4%	35.2%
1968	23.2%	34.7%
1969	23%	34.1%
1970	22.8%	33.5%
1971	22.6%	33%
1972	22.4%	32.6%
1973	22.3%	32.2%
1974	22.2%	31.7%
1975	22.3%	31.3%
1976	22.3%	30.9%
1977	22.2%	30.6%
1978	22.2%	30.3%
1979	22.1%	29.9%
1980	22.1%	29.5%
1981	22.1%	29.1%
1982	22.1%	28.8%
1983	22%	28.5%
1984	21.8%	28.3%
1985	21.6%	28.1%
1986	21.4%	27.8%
1987	21.3%	27.6%
1988	21.1%	27.4%
1989	20.8%	27.1%
1990	20.3%	26.9%
1991	19.8%	26.5%
1992	19.3%	26.1%
1993	18.8%	25.7%
1994	18.3%	25.5%
1995	17.9%	25.4%
1996	17.4%	25.1%
1997	17%	24.8%
1998	16.5%	24.4%
1999	16.1%	23.9%
2000	15.7%	23.4%
2001	15.2%	22.9%
2002	14.8%	22.5%
2003	14.4%	22.1%
2004	14%	21.7%
2005	13.7%	21.2%
2006	13.5%	20.8%
2007	13.4%	20.4%
2008	13.3%	20%
2009	13.4%	19.7%
2010	13.5%	19.3%
2011	13.5%	19%
2012	13.6%	18.8%
2013	13.7%	18.6%
2014	13.8%	18.3%
2015	13.9%	18%
2016	14%	17.8%
2017	14.2%	17.5%
2018	14.3%	17.4%
2019	14.4%	17.2%
2020	14.4%	17.2%
2021	14.5%	17.2%
2022	14.5%	17.2%
2023	14.5%	17.1%
2024	14.5%	16.8%
2025	14.4%	16.5%
2026	14.3%	16.2%
2027	14.3%	15.9%
2028	14.2%	15.6%
2029	14.1%	15.3%
2030	14%	14.9%
2031	14%	14.6%
2032	13.9%	14.3%
2033	13.8%	14%
2034	13.8%	13.7%
2035	13.7%	13.5%
2036	13.7%	13.3%
2037	13.7%	13.1%
2038	13.6%	13%
2039	13.6%	13%
2040	13.6%	13%
2041	13.6%	12.9%
2042	13.6%	12.9%
2043	13.6%	13%
2044	13.6%	13%
2045	13.6%	13%
2046	13.7%	13%
2047	13.7%	13%
2048	13.7%	13.1%
2049	13.8%	13.1%
2050	13.8%	13.1%

Children aged 0-14 make up 14.5% of the population in Bulgaria and 16.8% in North Macedonia in 2024, compared to 20.3% and 26.9% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of Bulgaria and North Macedonia compared.

Natural population change in Bulgaria vs North Macedonia by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been -0.79% in Bulgaria and -0.07% in North Macedonia. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Bulgaria	North Macedonia
1960	76,314	28,816
1961	75,460	27,846
1962	64,104	25,317
1963	66,241	28,124
1964	66,783	27,889
1965	58,249	28,564
1966	54,504	28,766
1967	49,861	28,401
1968	69,468	28,378
1969	63,256	27,464
1970	61,125	28,022
1971	52,925	28,010
1972	47,169	28,236
1973	57,760	28,032
1974	64,223	28,400
1975	54,941	28,983
1976	56,055	28,799
1977	47,543	27,410
1978	44,070	27,150
1979	40,599	27,096
1980	30,129	26,547
1981	29,341	25,689
1982	24,077	25,810
1983	21,455	24,690
1984	20,610	24,436
1985	11,649	24,167
1986	16,125	23,720
1987	8,971	24,359
1988	9,879	24,064
1989	5,326	22,912
1990	-3,487	22,868
1991	-14,675	23,387
1992	-18,789	21,659
1993	-24,569	20,797
1994	-32,086	19,103
1995	-42,030	17,239
1996	-45,159	14,806
1997	-58,185	12,979
1998	-52,844	12,446
1999	-39,411	10,489
2000	-41,668	12,159
2001	-44,050	10,174
2002	-46,240	9,697
2003	-44,319	8,900
2004	-40,128	5,444
2005	-42,124	4,011
2006	-39,526	3,988
2007	-37,727	2,974
2008	-32,967	3,746
2009	-26,800	4,309
2010	-34,759	4,866
2011	-37,477	3,100
2012	-40,183	3,087
2013	-37,948	3,653
2014	-41,027	3,644
2015	-44,699	2,294
2016	-42,744	2,374
2017	-45,583	1,329
2018	-46,304	1,512
2019	-46,317	-375
2020	-65,507	-5,939
2021	-90,452	-9,737
2022	-62,065	-4,397
2023	-43,837	-3,290

Maternal mortality chart: Bulgaria vs North Macedonia

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 6 deaths per 100,000 live births in Bulgaria, compared to 3 deaths in North Macedonia.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Bulgaria	North Macedonia
1985	26	17
1986	25	16
1987	25	15
1988	26	16
1989	25	14
1990	27	16
1991	25	15
1992	25	14
1993	23	14
1994	25	13
1995	23	13
1996	22	14
1997	23	13
1998	20	13
1999	20	12
2000	19	11
2001	17	9
2002	15	10
2003	14	8
2004	14	8
2005	13	7
2006	12	7
2007	11	7
2008	10	6
2009	9	6
2010	9	5
2011	8	5
2012	7	5
2013	7	5
2014	7	4
2015	7	4
2016	7	4
2017	7	4
2018	7	3
2019	6	3
2020	9	7
2021	9	12
2022	10	3
2023	6	3

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 0.61% in Bulgaria and 0.33% in North Macedonia. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Bulgaria	North Macedonia
1960	5.47%	-
1961	4.89%	-
1962	4.43%	-
1963	4.08%	-
1964	3.86%	-
1965	3.75%	-
1966	3.7%	-
1967	3.64%	-
1968	3.54%	-
1969	3.4%	-
1970	3.25%	-
1971	3.11%	-
1972	3.01%	-
1973	2.95%	-
1974	2.91%	-
1975	2.86%	-
1976	2.8%	-
1977	2.72%	-
1978	2.6%	-
1979	2.49%	-
1980	2.38%	-
1981	2.3%	5.79%
1982	2.22%	5.53%
1983	2.15%	5.25%
1984	2.07%	5.06%
1985	1.97%	5%
1986	1.87%	4.91%
1987	1.8%	4.69%
1988	1.78%	4.36%
1989	1.79%	4.01%
1990	1.83%	3.7%
1991	1.89%	3.46%
1992	1.92%	3.3%
1993	1.92%	3.13%
1994	1.91%	2.85%
1995	1.92%	2.45%
1996	1.94%	2.12%
1997	1.93%	1.93%
1998	1.89%	1.83%
1999	1.82%	1.73%
2000	1.75%	1.59%
2001	1.68%	1.48%
2002	1.6%	1.43%
2003	1.51%	1.43%
2004	1.42%	1.42%
2005	1.33%	1.37%
2006	1.24%	1.3%
2007	1.18%	1.23%
2008	1.14%	1.17%
2009	1.12%	1.1%
2010	1.08%	1.04%
2011	1.04%	1%
2012	0.99%	1.02%
2013	0.93%	1.07%
2014	0.87%	1.11%
2015	0.82%	1.13%
2016	0.77%	1.08%
2017	0.73%	0.97%
2018	0.7%	0.83%
2019	0.67%	0.7%
2020	0.65%	0.59%
2021	0.63%	0.5%
2022	0.62%	0.41%
2023	0.61%	0.33%