Editing Demographics of Bulgaria (section)

== Birth rates and fertility ==

===Historical birth and fertility rates===
The first reliable data about fertility and natural increase rates in the Bulgarian lands date back to the mid-1800s.

According to Turkish statistician [[Kemal Karpat]], Non-Muslims, Bulgarians included, in the [[Ottoman Empire]] received a remarkable boost in fertility in the early 1830s. Their average growth rate climbed up to 2% per year, compared to zero among Muslims, who suffered from demographic stagnation.<ref name=KKarpat1>{{cite book|last1=Karpat |first1=K.H. |title=Ottoman population, 1830-1914: demographic and social characteristics |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison, Wis |year=1985 | url=https://www.academia.edu/27913581 | pages=70|quote=The assessment of fertility rates is an absolute necessity for the understanding of the growth rate of the Ottoman population. It is generally assumed that during the first thirtv years of the nineteenth century the Ottoman population decreased, beginning to increase again after 1850. This assumption is one-sided and only partly true, for it ignores the differences in growth rates between Muslim and non-Muslim groups. The non-Muslim population actually grew at a fairly fast rate after the 1830s—probably 2 percent annually; the Muslim population declined or remained the same in number. There are indications, however, that fertility rates among the Muslims began to increase after 1850. The causes of the disproportionate fertility rates among the two groups are to be found in the special economic and social conditions which favored non-Muslims and penalized the Muslims, especially Turks. Male Turks spent their peak reproductive years in military service and were unable to marry and settle down to take advantage of economic opportunities. Then, when in the nineteenth century the Ottoman state was exposed to the influence of the European capitalist economy and to intensified internal and international trade, several non-Muslim groups became the early recipients of the economic benefits—and the promoters as well—of the new economic system. }}</ref>

The same trend continued well after Bulgaria's Liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878.<ref name="Godishnik">{{cite journal|journal=Статистически годишник на Българското Царство|publisher=National Statistical Institute|year=1915|language=bg, fr|location=Sofia|title=Статистически годишник на Българското Царство за 1912 г.|trans-title=Statistical Almanac of the Tsardom of Bulgaria for 1912|pages=75–77, 105|url=https://www.nsi.bg/statlib/bg/lister.php?iid=DO-010000465&page=1}}</ref> Until the early 1890s, Muslim birth rates in Bulgaria hesitated in the low 20s, dwarfed by rates of + 40‰ among Orthodox Christians, while natural increase rates hovered around zero.<ref name="Godishnik"/> The ongoing Muslim demographic crisis and the heavy migration to Turkey were the two primary reasons for the rapid decrease in Bulgaria's Muslim and Turkish population between 1880 and 1910, from 28.7% in 1880 to 13.8% in 1910 for Muslims and from 26.2% to 10.7% for Turks.

Muslim birth and natural increase rates started climbing slowly from the late 1890s but only surpassed Orthodox ones in 1924. Nevertheless, it was not the Eastern Orthodox but rather Bulgaria's [[Catholic Church in Bulgaria|Roman Catholics]] that had the highest birth rate during the period, though usually offset by very high mortality rates.

<div style="text-align: center;">'''Average Number of Births & Deaths, Average Birth Rate, Death Rate and Rate of Natural Increase in the Principality of Bulgaria by Period and Confession'''<ref name="Godishnik"/><ref name="Godishnik1930">{{cite journal|journal=Статистически годишник на Българското Царство|publisher=National Statistical Institute|year=1930|language=bg, fr|location=Sofia|title=Статистически годишник на Българското Царство за 1929–1930 г.|trans-title=Statistical Almanac of the Tsardom of Bulgaria for 1929–1930|pages=61, 89|url=https://www.nsi.bg/statlib/bg/lister.php?iid=DO-010000839&page=1}}</ref><ref name="Godishnik1934">{{cite journal|journal=Статистически годишник на Българското Царство|publisher=National Statistical Institute|year=1930|language=bg, fr|location=Sofia|title=Статистически годишник на Българското Царство за 1934 г.|trans-title=Statistical Almanac of the Tsardom of Bulgaria for 1934|pages=53, 64|url=https://www.nsi.bg/statlib/bg/lister.php?iid=DO-010001024&page=1}}</ref></div>
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+1891–1894 Averages by Confession
|-
! style="width:110pt;" rowspan="2" | Confession  || style="width:50pt;" |<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Live births per year</span> || style="width:25pt;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Birth rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Deaths per year</span> || style="width:25pt;" | <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Death rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Rate of natural increase</span>
|- class="static-row-header"
! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !!style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span>
|-
| [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">104,749</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">40.1</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">78,165</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">30.0</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''10.1'''</span>
|-
| [[Islam in Bulgaria|Muslims]]|| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">14,972</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23.3</span>|| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">13,924</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">21.8</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''1.5'''</span>
|-
| [[Judaism in Bulgaria|Jews]] || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,038</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">36.6</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">684</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">24.1</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|12.5}}'''</span>
|-
|[[Roman Catholic Church in Bulgaria|Roman Catholics]] ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">911</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|40.3}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">901</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|39.8}}'''</span>|| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|0.5}}'''</span>
|-
|[[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Gregorians]] ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">210</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">31.6</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">173</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">26.2</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''5.4'''</span>
|-
|[[Protestantism in Bulgaria|Protestants]] ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">49</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|20.5}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">35</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|14.7}}'''</span>|| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''5.8'''</span>
|-
! style="text-align: left;"|TOTAL ||style="text-align: right;"| 121,929  ||style="text-align: right;"| 36.7 ||style="text-align: right;"| 93,883 || style="text-align: right;"|28.4 || style="text-align: right;"|8.3
|-
|}</div>
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+1899–1902 Averages by Confession
|-
! style="width:50pt;" |<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> Live births per year </span> || style="width:27pt;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Birth rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Deaths per year</span> || style="width:27pt;" | <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Death rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Rate of natural increase</span>
|- class="static-row-header"
! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !!style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">125,151</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|41.4}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">70,608</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23.4</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''18.0'''</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">20,071</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">31.2</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">15,786</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">24.5</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''6.7'''</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,295</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">38.5</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">551</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">16.4</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> {{font color|royalblue|'''22.1'''}}</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,163</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">40.7</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">818</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">''' {{font color|orangered|28.6}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''12.1'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">383</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">27.7</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">298</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">21.6</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> {{font color|orangered|'''6.1'''}}</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">119</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|26.3}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">70</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|15.5}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''10.8'''</span>
|-
! style="text-align: right;"|148,182 ||style="text-align: right;"| 39.6  ||style="text-align: right;"| 88,081 || style="text-align: right;"| 23.5 || style="text-align: right;"|16.1
|-
|}</div>
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+1904–1907 Averages by Confession
|-
! style="width:50pt;" |<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> Live births per year </span> || style="width:25pt;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Birth rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Deaths per year</span> || style="width:25pt;" | <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Death rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Rate of natural increase</span>
|- class="static-row-header"
! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !!style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">148,076</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">44.2</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">72,816</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">21.8</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">{{font color|royalblue|'''22.4'''}}</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23,122</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">38.3</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">14,041</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23.3</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''15.0''' </span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,288</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">34.2</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">518</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">13.7</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''20.5'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,321</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|44.5}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">785</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|26.4}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''18.1'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">358</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|28.3}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">279</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">22.1</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">{{font color|orangered|'''6.2'''}}</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">182</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">32.2</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">85</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|15.1}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''17.1'''</span>
|-
! style="text-align: right;"|174,347 ||style="text-align: right;"| 43.2 ||style="text-align: right;"| 88,524 || style="text-align: right;"| 21.9 || style="text-align: right;"|21.3
|-
|}</div>

<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+1909–1912 Averages by Confession
|-
! style="width:110pt;" rowspan="2" | Confession  || style="width:50pt;" |<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Live births per year</span> || style="width:25pt;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Birth rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Deaths per year</span> || style="width:25pt;" | <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Death rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Rate of natural increase</span>
|- class="static-row-header"
! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !!style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span>
|-
| [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">151,155</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">41.5</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">82,006</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23.0</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|18.5}}'''</span>
|-
| [[Islam in Bulgaria|Muslims]]|| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23,896</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">39.7</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">15,892</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">26.4</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''13.3'''</span>
|-
| [[Judaism in Bulgaria|Jews]] || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,234</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">30.8</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">532</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|13.3}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''17.5'''</span>
|-
|[[Roman Catholic Church in Bulgaria|Roman Catholics]] ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,361</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|42.4}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">857</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|26.7}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''15.7'''</span>
|-
|[[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Gregorians]] ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">298</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">24.1</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">241</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">19.6</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|4.5}}'''</span>
|-
|[[Protestantism in Bulgaria|Protestants]] ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">194</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|30.1}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">108</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">17.3</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''12.8'''</span>
|-
! style="text-align: left;"|TOTAL ||style="text-align: right;"| 178,138  ||style="text-align: right;"| 41.1 ||style="text-align: right;"| 99,636 || style="text-align: right;"|23.0 || style="text-align: right;"|18.1
|-
|}</div>
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+1919–1922 Averages by Confession
|-
! style="width:50pt;" |<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> Live births per year </span> || style="width:25pt;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Birth rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Deaths per year</span> || style="width:25pt;" | <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Death rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Rate of natural increase</span>
|- class="static-row-header"
! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !!style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">159,843</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">39.3</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">85,295</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">21.0</span> || style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''18.3'''</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">24,346</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">35.2</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">16,079</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23.3</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''11.9'''</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,158</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|26.7}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">536</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|12.4}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> '''14.3'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,372</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|40.2}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">830</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|24.4}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''15.8'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">298</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">27.5</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">251</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">23.1</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">{{font color|orangered|'''4.4'''}}</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">198</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">35.3</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">92</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">16.4</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">{{font color|royalblue|'''18.9'''}}</span>
|-
! style="text-align: right;"|187,233 ||style="text-align: right;"| 38.8  ||style="text-align: right;"| 103,083 || style="text-align: right;"| 21.3 || style="text-align: right;"|17.5
|-
|}</div>
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+1925–1928 Averages by Confession
|-
! style="width:50pt;" |<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;"> Live births per year </span> || style="width:25pt;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Birth rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Deaths per year</span> || style="width:25pt;" | <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Death rate</span> ||style="width:50pt;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Rate of natural increase</span>
|- class="static-row-header"
! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">Number</span> !!style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span> !! style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">‰</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">156,839</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">34.3</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">82,220</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">18.0</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''16.3'''</span>
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">31,575</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|40.0}}'''</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">17,458</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|22.1}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">{{font color|royalblue|'''17.9'''}}</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,032</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|orangered|22.2}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">515</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''{{font color|royalblue|11.1}}'''</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''11.1'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">1,566</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">38.8</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">878</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">21.7</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''17.1'''</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">646</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">25.5</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">434</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">17.1</span> ||style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">{{font color|orangered|'''8.4'''}}</span>
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">221</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">32.8</span> ||style="text-align: right;"| <span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">108</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">16.0</span> || style="text-align: right;"|<span style="font-size:90%; line-height: 1.01em;">'''16.8'''</span>
|-
! style="text-align: right;"|191,890 ||style="text-align: right;"| 35.0 ||style="text-align: right;"| 101,613 || style="text-align: right;"| 18.5 || style="text-align: right;"|16.5
|-
|}</div>

In the 1930s and 1940s, ethnic Bulgarians completed stage 2 of their [[demographic transition]], and crude birth rate among them fell to a mere 23.3‰ by 1946, or twice as low as the birth rate of Bulgaria's two largest minorities, [[Turks in Bulgaria|Turks]] (40.9‰) and [[Romani people in Bulgaria|Roma]] (47.2‰).<ref name=Ilieva>{{cite journal|journal=Проблеми на географията|volume=1-2|year=2011|location=Sofia|publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences|last=Ilieva|first=Nadezhda|title=Промени в локализацията на ромската етническа група в България|trans-title=Problems in the Localisation of Romani in Bulgaria|pages=3|url=http://geoproblems.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2011_12/4_ilieva.pdf }}</ref> At the same time, due to higher mortality, the rate of natural increase among Bulgarian Turks was almost identical to that among ethnic Bulgarians (12.1‰ vs. 11.1‰), while the rate among the Romani was twice as high (23.1‰).<ref name=Ilieva/>

===Present-day===

A total of 64,984 live births were recorded in Bulgaria in 2016, giving the country a crude birth rate of 9.1‰.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6623/live-births-districts-municipalities-and-sex|title=Live births by districts, municipalities and sex - National statistical institute|website=www.nsi.bg|access-date=14 March 2018|archive-date=15 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133635/http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6623/live-births-districts-municipalities-and-sex|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bulgaria has a low [[total fertility rate]] of 1.58 children per woman (according to the 2021 Census). This is up significantly from the late 1990s, but still below replacement and not enough to prevent further population decline, especially with emigration. Provinces with large Roma populations (for example [[Sliven Province|Sliven]], [[Montana Province|Montana]] and [[Yambol Province|Yambol]]) tend to have higher fertility rates (and higher death rates) compared to other areas, whereas Turkish fertility is similar to the Bulgarian majority.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bulgaria Writes New Chapter In Long Story Of Demographic Decline|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/07/09/bulgaria-writes-new-chapter-in-long-story-of-demographic-decline/|date=9 July 2020|access-date=28 October 2020|first=Timothy|last=Judah|newspaper=The Economist|publisher=[[Balkan Insight]]}}</ref> The average number of (live births) children in 2021 was 1.47 for all women (aged 12 or more), ranging from 0.04 children for women between the ages of 12-19 to 1.92 children per women between the ages of 70-79. The distribution by ethnicity shows that only among women who identify themselves as belonging to the Roma ethnic group, the average number of children is sufficient for simple reproduction - 2.25 children, mainly because of the significantly younger age structure and low educational level of this group, followed by the Turkish ethnic group with 1.79 children and 1.41 children for women who self-identified as belonging to the Bulgarian ethnic.<ref>{{cite news|title= NSI - Birth rate, final data|url=https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2021-Fertility_en.pdf|date=2021|access-date=22 October 2022|publisher=[[National Statistical Institute (Bulgaria)]]}}</ref> The distribution of the average number of live births by religion changes from 1.83 children for Muslim women and 1.82 children for Protestant women, followed by 'other Christian' (1.63), Eastern Orthodox (1.43), Catholic (1.36), Jewish (1.27) and Armenian Apostolic (1.26). Women without religion had an average number of 1.40 children.

[[File:Vital statistics Bulgaria.tif|800px|frameless|left|Births and deaths, Bulgaria 1900-2015]]
<br>
<gallery widths=180>
File:Bulgaria map birth rate by region 2014.svg|Birth rate in 2014
File:Bulgaria total fertility rate by region 2013.png|Fertility rate in 2013
File:Bulgaria total fertility rate by region 2014.png|Fertility rate in 2014
File:Графика на раждаемостта и смъртността в България.JPG|Bulgaria's deaths and births (2005–2009).
</gallery>

[[File:Fertility rate of Bulgaria.GIF|thumb|right|upright=2.5|Fertility rate (1980–2010)]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Total fertility rate and crude birth rate by province in 2010 and from 2016 to 2024 (NSI)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6615/total-fertility-rate-statistical-regions-districts-and-place-residence|title=Total fertility rate by statistical regions, districts and place of residence - National statistical institute|website=www.nsi.bg|access-date=28 January 2018|archive-date=20 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320150417/http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6615/total-fertility-rate-statistical-regions-districts-and-place-residence|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TFR NSI">{{cite web|url=https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/2970/total-fertility-rate-statistical-regions-districts-and-place-residence|title=Total fertility rate by statistical regions, districts and place of residence - National statistical institute|website=www.nsi.bg}}</ref>
|-
!Province
! TFR (2010) || TFR (2016) || TFR (2017) || TFR (2018) || TFR (2019) || TFR (2020) || TFR (2021) || TFR (2022) || TFR (2023) || TFR (2024)
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | [[Severozapaden Planning Region|Northwest Region]]
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.53 ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.72 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.72 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.75 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.77 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.75 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.73 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.92 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.94 {{increase}} || style="background:#EAECF0;" | '''1.91''' {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Vidin Province|Vidin]]
| 1.50 || 1.45 {{decrease}} || 1.58 {{increase}} || | 1.68 {{increase}} || 1.65 {{decrease}}|| 1.45 {{decrease}}|| 1.64 {{increase}}|| 1.83 {{increase}} || 1.92 {{increase}} || 1.93 {{increase}}
|-
|[[Vratsa Province|Vratsa]]
| 1.46 || 1.77 {{increase}} || 1.68 {{decrease}} || | 1.81 {{increase}} || 1.83 {{increase}}|| 1.85 {{increase}}|| 1.76 {{decrease}}|| 1.84 {{increase}} || 1.92 {{increase}} || 1.92 {{steady}}
|-
|[[Lovech Province|Lovech]]
| 1.58 || 1.66 {{increase}} || 1.79 {{increase}} || 1.89 {{increase}} || 1.84 {{decrease}} || 1.91 {{increase}}|| 1.88 {{decrease}} || style="color: blue"| 2.11 {{increase}} || 2.06 {{decrease}} || 2.09 {{increase}}
|-
|[[Montana Province|Montana]]
| 1.52 || 1.74 {{increase}} || 1.65 {{decrease}} || 1.67 {{increase}} || 1.62 {{decrease}} || 1.63 {{increase}}|| 1.73 {{increase}}|| 1.87 {{increase}} || 1.91 {{increase}} || 1.90 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Pleven Province|Pleven]]
| 1.56 || 1.80 {{increase}} || 1.79 {{decrease}} || | 1.71 {{decrease}} || 1.81 {{increase}} || 1.76 {{decrease}} || 1.66 {{decrease}} || 1.93 {{increase}} || 1.92 {{decrease}} || 1.83 {{decrease}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | [[Severen Tsentralen Planning Region|North Central Region]]
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.32 ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.45 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.45 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.45 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.43 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.37 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.43 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.73 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.79 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | '''1.62''' {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Veliko Tarnovo Province|Veliko Tarnovo]]
| 1.19 || 1.40 {{increase}} || 1.43 {{increase}} || 1.34 {{decrease}} || 1.27 {{decrease}} || 1.25 {{decrease}} || 1.35 {{increase}} || 1.69 {{increase}} || 1.74 {{increase}} || 1.57 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Gabrovo Province|Gabrovo]]
| 1.43 || 1.41 {{decrease}} || 1.49 {{increase}} || 1.58 {{increase}} || 1.69 {{increase}} || 1.46 {{decrease}} || 1.43 {{decrease}} || 1.86 {{increase}} || 1.79 {{decrease}} || 1.71 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Razgrad Province|Razgrad]]
| 1.37 || 1.49 {{increase}} || 1.48 {{decrease}} || 1.65 {{increase}} || 1.60 {{decrease}} || 1.50 {{decrease}} || 1.53 {{increase}} || 1.70 {{increase}} || 1.77 {{increase}} || 1.50 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Ruse Province|Ruse]]
| 1.34 || 1.40 {{increase}}|| 1.37 {{decrease}} || 1.41 {{increase}} || 1.30 {{decrease}} || 1.34 {{increase}} || 1.40 {{increase}} || 1.60 {{increase}} || 1.71 {{increase}} || 1.62 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Silistra Province|Silistra]]
| 1.49 ||  1.77 {{increase}}|| 1.71 {{decrease}} || 1.55 {{decrease}} || 1.76 {{increase}}|| 1.58 {{decrease}} || 1.60 {{increase}} || 2.01 {{increase}} || 2.08 {{increase}} || 1.86 {{decrease}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | [[Severoiztochen Planning Region|Northeast Region]]
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.53 ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.50 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.48 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.49 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.52 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.45 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.46 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.75 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.76 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | '''1.63''' {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Varna Province|Varna]]
| 1.57 || 1.45 {{decrease}} || 1.44 {{decrease}} || 1.44 {{steady}} || 1.47 {{increase}} || 1.49 {{increase}} || 1.49 {{steady}} || 1.68 {{increase}} || 1.64 {{decrease}} || 1.56 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Dobrich Province|Dobrich]]
| 1.44 || 1.53 {{increase}} || 1.51 {{decrease}} || 1.44 {{decrease}} || 1.56 {{increase}} || 1.44 {{decrease}} || 1.37 {{decrease}} || 1.78 {{increase}} || 1.94 {{increase}} || 1.71 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Targovishte Province|Targovishte]]
| 1.67 || 1.59 {{decrease}}|| 1.57 {{decrease}} || 1.63 {{increase}} || 1.61 {{decrease}} || 1.41 {{decrease}} || 1.46 {{increase}} || 1.91 {{increase}} || 1.93 {{increase}} || 1.88 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Shumen Province|Shumen]]
| 1.42 || 1.54 {{increase}} || 1.45 {{decrease}} || 1.53 {{increase}} || 1.51 {{decrease}} || 1.35 {{decrease}} || 1.39 {{increase}} || 1.92 {{increase}} || 1.87 {{decrease}} || 1.67 {{decrease}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | [[Yugoiztochen Planning Region|Southeast Region]]
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.67 ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.82 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.88 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.84 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.87 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.82 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.82 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 2.01 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0; color: blue" | 2.14 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | '''2.03''' {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Burgas Province|Burgas]]
| 1.54 || 1.63 {{increase}} || 1.65 {{increase}} || 1.61 {{decrease}} || 1.69 {{increase}} || 1.59 {{decrease}} || 1.57 {{decrease}} || 1.76 {{increase}} || 1.88 {{increase}} || 1.70 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Sliven Province|Sliven]]
| 1.95 || style="color: blue"| 2.24 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.34 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.27 {{decrease}} || style="color: blue"| 2.35 {{increase}}|| style="color: blue"| 2.24 {{decrease}} || style="color: blue"| 2.29 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.57 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.60 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.59 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Stara Zagora Province|Stara Zagora]]
| 1.64 || 1.73 {{increase}} || 1.80 {{increase}} || 1.76 {{decrease}} || 1.72 {{decrease}} || 1.73 {{increase}} || 1.73 {{steady}} || 1.84 {{increase}} || 2.05 {{increase}} || 1.96 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Yambol Province|Yambol]]
| 1.70 || 1.98 {{increase}} || 2,00 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.13 {{increase}} || 2.06 {{decrease}}|| 2.08 {{increase}} || 2.07 {{decrease}} || style="color: blue"| 2.35 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.43 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.45 {{increase}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | [[Yugozapaden Planning Region|Southwest Region]]
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.42 ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.36 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.38 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.38 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.42 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.44 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.47 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.59 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.62 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | '''1.55''' {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Blagoevgrad Province|Blagoevgrad]]
| 1.46 || 1.46 {{steady}} || 1.45 {{decrease}} || 1.50 {{increase}} || 1.62 {{increase}} || 1.61 {{decrease}} || 1.62 {{increase}} || 1.63 {{increase}} || 1.77 {{increase}} || 1.66 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Kyustendil Province|Kyustendil]]
| 1.33 || 1.63 {{increase}} || 1.75 {{increase}} || 1.76 {{increase}} || 1.95 {{increase}} || 1.77 {{decrease}} || 1.76 {{decrease}} || 1.82 {{increase}} || 1.81 {{decrease}} || 1.78 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Pernik Province|Pernik]]
| 1.35 || 1.62 {{increase}} || 1.66 {{increase}} || 1.73 {{increase}} || 1.68 {{decrease}} || 1.54 {{decrease}} || 1.67 {{increase}} || 1.53 {{decrease}} || 1.47 {{decrease}} || 1.40 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Sofia Province|Sofia]]
| 1.45 || 1.74 {{increase}} || 1.73 {{decrease}} || 1.80 {{increase}} || 1.91 {{increase}} || 1.90 {{decrease}} || 1.92 {{increase}} || 1.90 {{decrease}} || 1.98 {{increase}} || 1.90 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Sofia]] (city)
| 1.39 || 1.27 {{decrease}} || 1.29 {{increase}} || 1.26 {{decrease}} || 1.28 {{increase}} || 1.33 {{increase}} || 1.36 {{increase}} || 1.51 {{increase}} || 1.53 {{increase}} || 1.47 {{decrease}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | [[Yuzhen Tsentralen Planning Region|South Central Region]]
|style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.50 ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.61 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.65 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.65 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.66 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.59 {{decrease}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.59 {{steady}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.82 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | 1.88 {{increase}} ||style="background:#EAECF0;" | '''1.75''' {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Kardzhali Province|Kardzhali]]
| 1.49 || 1.64 {{increase}} || 1.66 {{increase}} || 1.70 {{increase}} || 1.74 {{increase}} || 1.49 {{decrease}} || 1.31 {{decrease}} || 1.78 {{increase}} || 1.89 {{increase}} || 1.51 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Pazardzhik Province|Pazardzhik]]
| 1.58 || 1.72 {{increase}} || 1.75 {{increase}} || 1.85 {{increase}} || 1.81 {{decrease}} || 1.70 {{decrease}} || 1.57 {{decrease}} || 2.02 {{increase}} || style="color: blue"| 2.22 {{increase}} || 2.03 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Plovdiv Province|Plovdiv]]
| 1.49 || 1.56 {{increase}} || 1.60 {{increase}} || 1.61 {{increase}} || 1.60 {{decrease}} || 1.58 {{decrease}} || 1.63 {{increase}} || 1.82 {{increase}} || 1.84 {{increase}} || 1.74 {{decrease}}
|-
|[[Smolyan Province|Smolyan]]
| 1.33 || 1.45 {{increase}} || 1.47 {{increase}} || 1.40 {{decrease}} || 1.49 {{increase}} || 1.49 {{steady}} || 1.48 {{decrease}} || 1.33 {{decrease}} || 1.45 {{increase}} || 1.54 {{increase}}
|-
|[[Haskovo Province|Haskovo]]
| 1.53 || 1.70 {{increase}} || 1.75 {{increase}} || 1.62 {{decrease}} || 1.71 {{increase}}|| 1.59 {{decrease}} || 1.63 {{increase}} || 1.82 {{increase}} || 1.83 {{increase}} || 1.77 {{decrease}}
|-
! [[Bulgaria]] || 1.49 || 1.54 {{increase}} || 1.56 {{increase}} || 1.56 {{steady}} || 1.58 {{increase}}|| 1.56 {{decrease}} || {{increase}} 1.58 || {{increase}} 1.78 || {{increase}} 1.81 || {{decrease}} 1.72
|}

=== Regional differences ===

As of 2022, the municipality of [[Tvarditsa Municipality|Tvarditsa]] has the highest crude birth rate in the country, at 18.4‰, followed by the municipalities of [[Yablanitsa Municipality|Yablanitsa]] (17.9‰) and [[Nikolaevo|Nikolaevo Municipality]] (17.2‰). All these municipalities have relatively large [[Romani people in Bulgaria|Romani]] populations.
<br>
{| class="wikitable centre" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! colspan=19 | Top 20 municipalities with the highest birth rate (2021)<ref name="birth1">{{cite web|title=Live births by districts, municipalities and sex|publisher=National Statistical Institute|url=https://nsi.bg/en/content/2961/live-births-districts-municipalities-and-sex}}</ref><ref name="pop1">{{cite web|title=Population by Districts, Municipalities, Place of Residence and Sex as of 31.12.2022|publisher=National Statistical Institute|url=https://nsi.bg/en/content/2975/population-districts-municipalities-place-residence-and-sex}}</ref>
|-
! Municipality !! Birth rate (‰)
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Tvarditsa Municipality]], [[Sliven Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Yablanitsa Municipality]], [[Lovech Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 17.9
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Nikolaevo|Nikolaevo Municipality]], [[Stara Zagora Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 17.2
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Kaynardzha Municipality]], [[Silistra Province]] || 16.1
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Ugarchin Municipality]], [[Lovech Province]] || 15.1
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Kotel Municipality]], [[Sliven Province]] || 14.6
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Nikola Kozlevo Municipality]], [[Shumen Province]] || 14.6
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Lukovit Municipality]], [[Lovech Province]] || 13.6
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Dolna Banya Municipality]], [[Sofia Province]] || 13.0
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Bratya Daskalovi|Bratya Daskalovi Municipality]], [[Stara Zagora Province]] || 12.5
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Straldzha|Straldzha Municipality]], [[Yambol Province]] || 12.5
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Gurkovo|Gurkovo Municipality]], [[Stara Zagora Province]] || 12.4
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Sadovo|Sadovo Municipality]], [[Plovdiv Province]] || 12.4
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Nova Zagora]] Municipality, [[Sliven Province]] || 12.3
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Strazhitsa Municipality]], [[Veliko Tarnovo Province]] || 12.2
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Suhindol Municipality]], [[Veliko Tarnovo Province]] || 12.2
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Ruzhintsi Municipality]], [[Vidin Province]] || 12.1
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Rakovski (town)|Rakovski Municipality]], [[Plovdiv Province]] || 12.1
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | [[Devnya Municipality]], [[Varna Province]] || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | [[Dimovo Municipality]], [[Vidin Province]] || 12.0
|-
! colspan=19 | Top 20 municipalities with the lowest birth rate (2017)<ref name="nsi.bg1">{{cite web |url= http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6627/live-births-districts-municipalities-and-mother's-age|title=Live births|website=www.nsi.bg}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Nedelino]] Municipality, [[Smolyan Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.7
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Hisarya, Bulgaria|Hisarya]] Municipality, [[Plovdiv Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.6
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Kocherinovo Municipality]], [[Kyustendil Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.6
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Devin, Bulgaria|Devin]] Municipality, [[Smolyan Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.5
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Gramada Municipality]], [[Vidin Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.5
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Svoge Municipality]], [[Sofia Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.5
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Godech Municipality]], [[Sofia Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.4
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Apriltsi Municipality]], [[Lovech Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.3
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Novo Selo Municipality]], [[Vidin Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 5.0
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Chepelare]] Municipality, [[Smolyan Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.9
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Zemen]] Municipality, [[Pernik Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.9
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Hitrino Municipality]], [[Shumen Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.8
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Chiprovtsi Municipality]], [[Montana Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.7
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Borovo Municipality, Bulgaria|Borovo Municipality]], [[Ruse Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.5
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Belene Municipality]], [[Pleven Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.4
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Tryavna Municipality]], [[Gabrovo Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.2
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Boynitsa Municipality]], [[Vidin Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 4.0
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Nevestino Municipality]], [[Kyustendil Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 3.8
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Banite]] Municipality, [[Smolyan Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 3.2
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Georgi Damyanovo Municipality]], [[Montana Province]] || style="text-align:right; | 3.1
|}
On the other hand, the municipalities of [[Georgi Damyanovo Municipality|Georgi Damyanovo]], [[Banite]] and [[Nevestino Municipality|Nevestino]] have incredibly low birth rates. These municipalities are almost exclusively inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians.

=== Teenage pregnancy ===

Bulgaria has one of the highest share of teenage pregnancy in Europe. Nevertheless, this number declined rapidly between 1995 and 2010, until it stabilized at around 10%.

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=19 | Number of teenage mothers in Bulgaria in the period 1990-2024<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=Live births by districts, municipalities and mother's age|publisher=National Statistical Institute|url=https://nsi.bg/en/content/2965/live-births-districts-municipalities-and-mother%E2%80%99s-age}}</ref>
|-
! style="width:140pt; align="left"| Year || 1990 || 1995 || 2000 || 2005 || 2010 || 2015 || 2017 || 2020 || 2021 || 2022 || 2023 || 2024
|-
| All live births in Bulgaria || 105,180 || 71,967 || 73,679 || 69,886 || 75,513 || 65,950 || 63,955 || 59,086 || 58,678 || 56,596 || 57,197 || 53,428
|-
|  '''Mothers aged under twenty''' || '''22,518''' || '''16,278''' || '''12,787''' || '''10,625''' || '''8,411''' || '''6,274''' || '''6,038''' || '''5,970''' || '''5,861''' || '''5,769''' || '''5,820''' || '''5,819'''
|-
| Share of teenage mothers || {{increase}} 21.4% || {{increase}}22.6% || {{decrease}} 17.4% || {{decrease}} 15.2% || {{decrease}} 11.1% || {{decrease}} 9.5% ||{{decrease}} 9.4% ||{{increase}} 10.1%  ||{{decrease}} 10.0% || {{increase}} 10.2% || {{steady}} 10.2% || {{increase}} 10.9%
|}

The ten municipalities with the largest absolute number of teenage mothers for 2022 are: [[Sliven]] (371), [[Sofia]] (345), [[Plovdiv]] (196), [[Pazardzhik]] (130), [[Yambol]] (123), [[Nova Zagora]] (121), [[Burgas]] (108), [[Pleven]] (110), [[Tvarditsa, Sliven Province|Tvarditsa]] (98), [[Stara Zagora]], [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] (83) and [[Haskovo]] (81).<ref name="auto1"/>

{| class="wikitable centre" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! colspan=19 | Top ten municipalities with the highest share of mothers aged under twenty (2022)<ref name="auto1"/>
|-
! Municipality !! All live births || Births to mothers aged under twenty || % of all live births
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Gurkovo|Gurkovo Municipality]]  || style="text-align:right; | 54|| style="text-align:right; | 25|| 46.3%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Simeonovgrad Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 78 || style="text-align:right; | 33 || 43.3%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Ugarchin Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 75|| style="text-align:right; | 32 || 42.7%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Yablanitsa Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 99 || style="text-align:right; | 40 || 40.4%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Tvarditsa, Sliven Province|Tvarditsa Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 243 || style="text-align:right; | 98|| 40.4%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Kaynardzha Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 63 || style="text-align:right; | 25 || 39.7%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Straldzha|Straldzha Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 127 || style="text-align:right; | 47 || 37.0%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Maglizh|Maglizh Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 101 || style="text-align:right; | 36 || 35.6%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Sredets Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 118 || style="text-align:right; | 41 || 34.7%
|-
| style="text-align:right; | [[Nova Zagora Municipality]] || style="text-align:right; | 371 || style="text-align:right; | 121 || 32.6%
|}