Though Bulgaria was moving steadily away from socialism and expected EU entry in the near future, its population was diminishing fast, BBC reported.

A number of Bulgarians were forced to look for employment in other countries. Bulgaria was losing its people faster than any other European country, the report said.

The situation was particularly bad in the countryside. “When the Soviet Union collapsed the market for Bulgaria's produce went with it,” BBC said.

As a result Bulgarian villages were depopulating and the smallest ones were abandoned.

A demographic crisis made the situation worse. Statistics show that Bulgaria will lose a third of its population in the coming few decades.

“The exodus from Bulgaria is set to increase as EU membership makes emigration easier. But there is another factor behind the nation's alarming population statistics: Bulgarians are not having nearly enough babies,” BBC reported.

Bulgarians lacked the financial resources needed for a big family, the report said. Families had difficulty taking the decision to have children, BBC said.