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Sliven and Yambol record the highest fertility rates in continental EU for 2024

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Autumn town park with trees in yellow leaves, benches and empty children's play equipment Interesting Facts
Autumn town park with trees in yellow leaves, benches and empty children's play equipment

Eurostat data show Sliven at 2.58 births per woman for the third year at the top of the continental EU, while Bulgaria's national rate fell to 1.72.

Sliven Region had the highest total fertility rate in the continental part of the European Union for the third year in a row in 2024, according to the latest Eurostat data published on Tuesday 27 October, BTA reported.

The total fertility rate measures the average number of children a woman would have over her reproductive life, from age 15 to 49, based on the rates recorded in the reporting year. Sliven's rate was unchanged from the previous year at 2.58 live births per woman. Yambol Region came second in the continental EU, as in 2023, with 2.42.

Only the French overseas territories of Mayotte and French Guiana had higher rates in 2024, at 3.51 and 3.10 live births per woman respectively. Among all EU regions, including overseas territories, Sliven ranked third and Yambol fourth. In 2020 and 2021 the Romanian county of Vaslui was first in the continental EU, ahead of Sliven.

The updated national strategy for demographic development (2012-2030) sets 2.1 live births per woman as the theoretical minimum for simple population replacement. In Bulgaria, only Sliven and Yambol were above that level in 2023 and 2024. Two other regions passed two births per woman in 2024: Lovech at 2.07 and Pazardzhik at 2.01.

The lowest rates were recorded in Pernik, at 1.39 live births per woman, and Sofia City, at 1.47, followed by Razgrad at 1.48 and Kardzhali at 1.50. For Bulgaria as a whole, the rate fell to 1.72 in 2024 from 1.81 in 2023, which had been the country's highest since 1990. Bulgaria had the highest total fertility rate in the EU in 2022, 2023 and 2024, BTA said.

The figures matter for businesses and investors because population trends shape the future labour force and demand for housing, schools and services. The gap between the capital, which has a low fertility rate but attracts workers from across the country, and regions with higher rates is part of the wider picture of how Bulgaria's population is changing.

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