NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by natural population change

Sliven had the highest natural population change of 28 areas in 2023, at -525. Plovdiv had the lowest, at -3,050. The median was -1,553 and the figure for Bulgaria was -43,809. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest-525Sliven
Lowest-3,050Plovdiv
Median-1,55328 areas
Bulgaria-43,809History

All areas, 2023

Sliven: -525 personsSliven-525Targovishte: -891 personsTargovishte-891Kardzhali: -932 personsKardzhali-932Silistra: -961 personsSilistra-961Yambol: -964 personsYambol-964Razgrad: -987 personsRazgrad-987Smolyan: -1,100 personsSmolyan-1,100Vidin: -1,173 personsVidin-1,173Blagoevgrad: -1,253 personsBlagoevgrad-1,253Lovech: -1,324 personsLovech-1,324Shumen: -1,370 personsShumen-1,370Gabrovo: -1,437 personsGabrovo-1,437Kyustendil: -1,490 personsKyustendil-1,490Pernik: -1,536 personsPernik-1,536Dobrich: -1,569 personsDobrich-1,569Montana: -1,603 personsMontana-1,603Vratsa: -1,613 personsVratsa-1,613Pazardzhik: -1,639 personsPazardzhik-1,639Haskovo: -1,869 personsHaskovo-1,869Sofia (stolitsa): -1,871 personsSofia (stolitsa)-1,871Sofia: -1,958 personsSofia-1,958Burgas: -1,999 personsBurgas-1,999Varna: -2,007 personsVarna-2,007Ruse: -2,027 personsRuse-2,027Veliko Tarnovo: -2,094 personsVeliko Tarnovo-2,094Stara Zagora: -2,126 personsStara Zagora-2,126Pleven: -2,441 personsPleven-2,441Plovdiv: -3,050 personsPlovdiv-3,050Sliven: -525 personsSliven-525Targovishte: -891 personsTargovishte-891Kardzhali: -932 personsKardzhali-932Silistra: -961 personsSilistra-961Yambol: -964 personsYambol-964Razgrad: -987 personsRazgrad-987Smolyan: -1,100 personsSmolyan-1,100Vidin: -1,173 personsVidin-1,173Blagoevgrad: -1,253 personsBlagoevgrad-1,253Lovech: -1,324 personsLovech-1,324Shumen: -1,370 personsShumen-1,370Gabrovo: -1,437 personsGabrovo-1,437Kyustendil: -1,490 personsKyustendil-1,490Pernik: -1,536 personsPernik-1,536Dobrich: -1,569 personsDobrich-1,569Montana: -1,603 personsMontana-1,603Vratsa: -1,613 personsVratsa-1,613Pazardzhik: -1,639 personsPazardzhik-1,639Haskovo: -1,869 personsHaskovo-1,869Sofia (stolitsa): -1,871 personsSofia (stolitsa)-1,871Sofia: -1,958 personsSofia-1,958Burgas: -1,999 personsBurgas-1,999Varna: -2,007 personsVarna-2,007Ruse: -2,027 personsRuse-2,027Veliko Tarnovo: -2,094 personsVeliko Tarnovo-2,094Stara Zagora: -2,126 personsStara Zagora-2,126Pleven: -2,441 personsPleven-2,441Plovdiv: -3,050 personsPlovdiv-3,050
persons. Source: Eurostat, Population change, natural change of population, by NUTS 2 and 3 region (demo_r_gind3). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankAreas2023
persons
Change on 2022
1Sliven-525+47.9%
2Targovishte-891+25.4%
3Kardzhali-932+30.4%
4Silistra-961+28.2%
5Yambol-964+22%
6Razgrad-987+27.7%
7Smolyan-1,100+20%
8Vidin-1,173+24.3%
9Blagoevgrad-1,253+41.7%
10Lovech-1,324+20.6%
11Shumen-1,370+21.7%
12Gabrovo-1,437+16.7%
13Kyustendil-1,490+19.8%
14Pernik-1,536+18.5%
15Dobrich-1,569+23.6%
16Montana-1,603+19.3%
17Vratsa-1,613+25%
18Pazardzhik-1,639+31%
19Haskovo-1,869+28.4%
20Sofia (stolitsa)-1,871+56.7%
21Sofia-1,958+22.5%
22Burgas-1,999+35.9%
23Varna-2,007+32.5%
24Ruse-2,027+29.4%
25Veliko Tarnovo-2,094+24.6%
26Stara Zagora-2,126+34.9%
27Pleven-2,441+20.3%
28Plovdiv-3,050+34.8%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_nuts_3_areas_of_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/bulgaria-provinces?period=2023.
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 -525 in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest natural population change?

Plovdiv, with -3,050 in 2023.

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