АУТОР / AUTHOR(S): Boris Kazakov 
DOI: 10.46793/CSGE5.33BK
САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:
The paper analyses the current demographic situation in Bulgaria based on the results of the latest population census conducted in the country (September, 2021), provided by the National Statistical Institute (NSI). All major demographic indicators have been analysed (population number, population density, population dynamics, urban and rural population, as well as some of the basic socio-demographic structures of the population) at national and regional (NUTS 3) level. The focus of the analysis falls on the regional disparities—highest and lowest values of the demographic indicators, and most importantly—on the major factors that contribute to the observed differences. The analysis shows that the loss of population in the decade between the two latest population censuses (2011 and 2021) is the highest in the recorded demographic history of the country in both absolute and relative numbers, while the age structure of the population is at its worst, which are the main features of the demographic crisis in Bulgaria. All demographic aspects, however, exhibit significant disparities at regional level, while at lower regional level (LAU 1) opposite extremes are even observed, resulting in the formation of several “islands of demographic prosperity” across the country, located within a vast territory exhibiting an overall demographic collapse, where some areas can be referred to as a “demographic desert”. Last, but not least, the results of a demographic projection of the population as of 2050 have been provided.
КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:
demographic situation; demographic crisis; regional disparities; population projection