People in Bulgaria - population and ethnic groups.

Information about the people - population, growth rate, ethnic groups, minority groups.

Until the middle of the last century three quarters of the population in Bulgaria lived in the villages. At the end of the century, as a result of the last industrialization and the migration to the cities, the ratio has reserved and today 70% is urban population.

Population

Bulgaria has about 7.5 million people.

Sofia, the capital, is the largest city, it has about 1,5-2 million people

Growth rate for 2006 - 0.51%

The proportion between women and men in Bulgaria is 51,4% to 48,6%. The smaller share of men is due to their shorter life expectancy, and therefore is sharper in the age of over 50 years.

Ancestry

About 85% of Bulgaria's people are of Bulgarian ancestry. They are descended from Slavs, who settled the region in the 500'S, and Bulgars, who arrived in the 600's. The Slavs came from what are now southeastern Poland and northwest Ukraine. The Bulgars were a nomadic Asian people.

People of Turkish ancestry make up about 10% of the population. In 1984 and 1985 Bulgarian authorities forced the Turks to adopt Bulgarian names. Some of the people who refused to change their names were killed, others were forced to leave the country. In December 1989 Bulgaria's reform government ended this policy and granted equal rights to ethnic Turks.

Other minority groups in Bulgaria include Armenians, Greeks, Gypsies, Romanians and Russians.