The increasing number of live births and the growing average life expectancy are the positive trends in the demographic development of the Bulgarian population.

This was noted by the government as it endorsed the updated national strategy for the demographic development of the Bulgarian population (2012-2030).

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the cabinet also adopted this year's plan on monitoring the implementation of the strategy.

According to data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) as of 31 December 2014, Bulgaria had a population of 7 202 198 people, which represented 1.4 % of the population of the EU.

In this respect, the country ranked sixteenth among the 28 member states of the EU.

In the past year, the Bulgarian population decreased by 0.6 %, which amounted to 43 479 people.

The average life expectancy of Bulgarians for the 2012-2014 period stood at 74.7 years, recording an increase of 0.2 years compared to the previous period.

The average life expectancy among men was 71.2 years, while the corresponding figure among women was 78.3 years.

The trends indicate that the Bulgarian population is heading towards a family model with more than one child.

In the academic 2014-2015 year, more than 82 % or 241 000 children were accommodated at kindergartens.

In 2014, 28 727 people changed their Bulgarian address with a foreign one, with more than half of the people leaving the country aged between 20 and 39 years.

At the same time, a process of returning to Bulgaria is also witnessed, with 26 615 changing their foreign address with a Bulgarian one.

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