One in six Bulgarians lives in Sofia

Every sixth Bulgarian lives in Sofia, National Statistical Institute (NSI) data show. At the end of 2009 the capital city had 1,249,798 residents, up 0.2% on 2008. Density also increased and last year 926 people lived on 1 sq. km, compared with 922 people in 2008.
The demographic crisis in Sofia is over, the data show. For the first time since the early 1990s in 2009 the birth rate was higher than the death rate. Population growth was 0.2 per mill.

A total of 15,360 live births were registered in Sofia last year, i.e. nearly 20% of all births in Bulgaria. Year on year, births increased 6.5%. For the past three or four years birth rates in Sofia have been on the rise. That is not the result of a rise in the number of young women; it is due to the fact that more families decide to have a second child, the NSI said.

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