An annual demographic report of the Austrian Institute for Family Policies has seen Bulgaria as the country with the fastest decreasing population in the EU.

The institute is a non-governmental organisation, tracking demographics in the 27 EU member states. The report draws on data from national statistical authorities and Eurostat and has been prepared at the request of the European Parliament.

If the rate of decrease is sustained, Bulgarian population will number 5 million by 2050, the report released earlier this year showed. For the 10 years to 2006, local population decreased by 8 per cent.

The report alerted that birth rate in the EU has been declining at a catastrophic speed and is already below the critical minimum. The impact from this phenomenon is not as pronounced because of continuing mass immigration.

The population of the EU has risen by 37.6 million or 8 per cent between 1980 and 2007 and 75 per cent of the increase has been attributable to immigrants, the report read. The countries to enjoy population increases were Ireland, Luxembourg and Spain.

On the downside were most East European states. Bulgaria's fate was shared by Romania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Estonia.