Data / Rankings / Natural population change / NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria

NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change

Sliven had the highest natural population change of 28 areas in 2021, at -1,622. Sofia (stolitsa) had the lowest, at -8,775. The median was -2,833 and the figure for Bulgaria was -90,317. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest-1,622Sliven
Lowest-8,775Sofia (stolitsa)
Median-2,83328 areas
Bulgaria-90,317History

All areas, 2021

Sliven: -1,622 personsSliven-1,622Yambol: -1,679 personsYambol-1,679Smolyan: -1,689 personsSmolyan-1,689Kardzhali: -1,788 personsKardzhali-1,788Targovishte: -1,822 personsTargovishte-1,822Razgrad: -1,885 personsRazgrad-1,885Silistra: -1,926 personsSilistra-1,926Vidin: -2,054 personsVidin-2,054Gabrovo: -2,305 personsGabrovo-2,305Lovech: -2,332 personsLovech-2,332Pernik: -2,529 personsPernik-2,529Kyustendil: -2,534 personsKyustendil-2,534Shumen: -2,574 personsShumen-2,574Dobrich: -2,804 personsDobrich-2,804Montana: -2,862 personsMontana-2,862Vratsa: -3,122 personsVratsa-3,122Blagoevgrad: -3,201 personsBlagoevgrad-3,201Haskovo: -3,444 personsHaskovo-3,444Pazardzhik: -3,500 personsPazardzhik-3,500Sofia: -3,672 personsSofia-3,672Ruse: -3,703 personsRuse-3,703Veliko Tarnovo: -3,908 personsVeliko Tarnovo-3,908Burgas: -4,068 personsBurgas-4,068Varna: -4,322 personsVarna-4,322Stara Zagora: -4,357 personsStara Zagora-4,357Pleven: -4,360 personsPleven-4,360Plovdiv: -7,480 personsPlovdiv-7,480Sofia (stolitsa): -8,775 personsSofia (stolitsa)-8,775Sliven: -1,622 personsSliven-1,622Yambol: -1,679 personsYambol-1,679Smolyan: -1,689 personsSmolyan-1,689Kardzhali: -1,788 personsKardzhali-1,788Targovishte: -1,822 personsTargovishte-1,822Razgrad: -1,885 personsRazgrad-1,885Silistra: -1,926 personsSilistra-1,926Vidin: -2,054 personsVidin-2,054Gabrovo: -2,305 personsGabrovo-2,305Lovech: -2,332 personsLovech-2,332Pernik: -2,529 personsPernik-2,529Kyustendil: -2,534 personsKyustendil-2,534Shumen: -2,574 personsShumen-2,574Dobrich: -2,804 personsDobrich-2,804Montana: -2,862 personsMontana-2,862Vratsa: -3,122 personsVratsa-3,122Blagoevgrad: -3,201 personsBlagoevgrad-3,201Haskovo: -3,444 personsHaskovo-3,444Pazardzhik: -3,500 personsPazardzhik-3,500Sofia: -3,672 personsSofia-3,672Ruse: -3,703 personsRuse-3,703Veliko Tarnovo: -3,908 personsVeliko Tarnovo-3,908Burgas: -4,068 personsBurgas-4,068Varna: -4,322 personsVarna-4,322Stara Zagora: -4,357 personsStara Zagora-4,357Pleven: -4,360 personsPleven-4,360Plovdiv: -7,480 personsPlovdiv-7,480Sofia (stolitsa): -8,775 personsSofia (stolitsa)-8,775
persons. Source: Eurostat, Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankAreas2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Sliven-1,622-38.8%
2Yambol-1,679-24.3%
3Smolyan-1,689-14.4%
4Kardzhali-1,788-59.8%
5Targovishte-1,822-31.3%
6Razgrad-1,885-20.5%
7Silistra-1,926-27.9%
8Vidin-2,054-14.4%
9Gabrovo-2,305-19.9%
10Lovech-2,332-31.6%
11Pernik-2,529-29.6%
12Kyustendil-2,534-25.8%
13Shumen-2,574-36.1%
14Dobrich-2,804-37.6%
15Montana-2,862-24.8%
16Vratsa-3,122-41.6%
17Blagoevgrad-3,201-38.7%
18Haskovo-3,444-25.2%
19Pazardzhik-3,500-30.4%
20Sofia-3,672-29%
21Ruse-3,703-28.2%
22Veliko Tarnovo-3,908-37.8%
23Burgas-4,068-50.2%
24Varna-4,322-59.4%
25Stara Zagora-4,357-37.8%
26Pleven-4,360-37.2%
27Plovdiv-7,480-35.8%
28Sofia (stolitsa)-8,775-90.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Live births minus deaths during the year. A negative value means more deaths than births (Eurostat).

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the areas are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3) (NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table

MLA 9

Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3), NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 21 July 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3). NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3), NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_nuts_3_areas_of_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo\_r\_gind3): NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo\_r\_gind3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo\_r\_gind3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3): NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/21
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_gind3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which area has the highest natural population change?

Sliven, with -1,622 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest natural population change?

Sofia (stolitsa), with -8,775 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Natural population change: other rankings

NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria: more rankings