 THE NATION |
According to the latest census conducted in 2001, Bulgaria's population by July 2001 stood at 7,707,495,down from 9,000,000 in the late 70's and early 80s.
The population growth rate in 2001 was estimated at a negative -1.14%, compared to -0.8% between 1986 and 1992. Since 1992, annual emigration rate is estimated at an average of 0.5% per year.
According to 1998 estimates, ethnic Bulgarians account for 83% of the population, ethnic Turks - 8.5%, and Roma - 2.6%. The balance of about 6% is spread among Macedonians, Armenians, Tatars, Gagauz, Circassian and others ethnic groups.
The main language is Bulgarian, with secondary languages closely matching the ethnic breakdown of the country's population.
The largest portion - 83.5% - of the population are Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, 13 % are Muslims, 1.5% are Roman Catholic, and Uniate Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Gregorian-Armenians and other religious denominations account for the balance of 2% (1998 estimates).
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Generally, Bulgarians determine themselves as Eastern Orthodox but this is more a "description of affiliation" rather than a sign of recognition of personal religious beliefs. For Bulgarians, the Christian Church has throughout history been a philosophy and an outlook on life, and not simply religion, as ancient pagan traditions even today are intermixed with Christian Orthodox traditions in a remarkably inseparable way
Tendency of the Bulgarian Population
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