Ethnic and Regional Aspects of the Demographic Crisis in Bulgaria

Abstract

Abstract—: Thirty years after the start of democratic change, Bulgaria’s population has decreased by about 2 mln people. During this period (1989–2019), the country recorded one of the highest rates of population decrease in the world. These circumstances have confronted the Balkan country with a number of difficulties in regional development. The article outlines a specific national sociopsychological discourse on demographic processes in the conditions of Bulgaria’s socioeconomic transformation. The main dilemma here is whether this is a demographic crisis or a demographic catastrophe. In addition to assessments of this problem at the national level, the author has attempted to interpret its ethnic and regional aspects. The chief theses are confirmed by selected empirical data, which illustrate the serious scale of depopulation of Bulgaria and regions of the country. The author emphasizes the helplessness of Bulgarian society and state policy, which have long suffered the lack of an operational approach to neutralizing negative demographic trends and depopulation in a number of regions.