The year 2009 proved to be Bulgaria's most fertile year since 1995, with 81 572 babies born, or an increase of 3244 on 2008 figures, the Bulgarian national television (BNT) reported on April 6 2010.

Though this is undoubtedly great news for Bulgaria, the country's population still fell by nearly 43 000 people.

The number of people who have reached retiring age increased by 32 000. A total of 1900 people left the country, most of them women.

The average age of an individual in Bulgaria today is 42 years.

However, experts in the field believe that if this fertility rate is maintained in the future, Bulgaria might just be able "to cope with its serious case of low fertility and steep population decline," BNT said.

Bulgaria’s population at the end of 2009 was 7 563 710, 0.6 per cent lower than in 2008 but representing the lowest rate of population decrease since 1993, according to National Statistical Institute figures released on March 24 2010.
 
The seemingly inevitable decrease in population is attributed to various factors, such as emigration and a continued negative birth rate. The deficit between deaths and births stood at 27 112.

More than half of those who left the country were aged between 20 and 39.

Demographically, women constitute 51.6 per cent of the population in Bulgaria, while 71.4 per cent of people were living in cities, according to the National Statistical Institute. The average life expectancy is 73.4 years, 69.9 for men and 77.1 for women.