Bulgaria has EU’s highest mortality rate for fifth straight year

For the fifth year running, Bulgaria has the EU's highest mortality rates, BGNES reports. Latvia, Hungary and Croatia follow, while Ireland and Luxembourg have the lowest rates.

During the 2020 pandemic, Bulgaria's average mortality rate was 19 per thousand, compared to 11.6 per thousand in the EU. The following year, the number of deaths in Bulgaria increased to 22.9 per thousand, while in the EU it decreased to 11.6.

According to data from 2023 and 2024, Bulgaria's overall mortality rate is 15.7 per thousand; 100,736 people died in 2024 alone. Although this figure is declining slightly, Bulgaria still has the highest mortality rate in Europe, where the average rate was 10.8 per thousand in 2023.

Bulgaria's infant mortality rate is 1.5 times higher than the European average.

• One-third of doctors in Bulgaria are of retirement age

Editor: Diana Tsankova