The long-term trend of most Bulgarian babies being born without their parents having a civil marriage continues, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported in its annual report on demographic statistics in 2025. Out of a total of 50,241 live births in the past twelve months, an impressive 30,847 were born into families without a legal union, while the overall birth rate in the country recorded another serious decline.
In 2025, the number of newborns in our country decreased by nearly 6 percent, or 3,187 children fewer than the previous year. The total fertility rate remains at a level of 1.63 children per woman, which is far from the 2.1 necessary for the simple reproduction of the nation. NSI experts explain the situation categorically: "The negative trend is deepening, as the population of fertile age is decreasing and a vicious circle is formed".
By the end of the year, women of reproductive age (15-49 years) had decreased by nearly 11,000 people. According to independent activists and analysts, the government's decision to freeze benefits for the second year of maternity until 2028 also had an additional demotivating effect on young families. At the same time, the mortality rate remains high with 99,479 deaths, which leads to a negative natural increase of minus 49,238 people for the year.
The fewest babies cried last year in Smolyan district – only 410, closely followed by Vidin with 439 newborns. At the other pole, the Sliven region traditionally remains the absolute leader with nearly 12 children per 1,000 inhabitants and a fertility rate of 2.43.
However, behind these record figures is a specific social structure - the average age at birth of a first child in the region is only 22.1 years, while in the capital Sofia it reaches 30.8 years. The number of underage mothers in our country remains a significant social problem, with 2,636 of the children in 2025 being born to women under the age of 18.
The operational data of the National Health Information System show another trend - Nearly 48% of births in Bulgaria are performed by cesarean section, which is one of the highest shares in Europe.
At the same time, experts point out that the official statistics of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) only cover births on the territory of the country and do not reflect the full picture of the Bulgarian nation. Analyst Boyan Yurukov points out: "The official data of the National Statistical Institute do not include births of Bulgarians abroad, which distorts the picture". According to calculations, the children of Bulgarian emigrants add between 6 and 10 percent to the real number of newborn Bulgarians each year.