Bulgaria has the second highest share of illegitimate children from the countries in the European Union - 58.5%, according to the latest Eurostat data. 

For comparison, the average share of illegitimate children in the EU in 2018 is 42%, which is an increase of 17% compared to 2000. 

In the Balkans, our country is followed by Kosovo with 38.7%, Serbia - 26.8% and Croatia with 20.7%. They are followed by Northern Macedonia with 12.1% and Greece with 11.1%. There are no data for Albania and Montenegro. 

In 2018, in eight EU Member States, most newborns were born out of wedlock - France - nearly 60%, Bulgaria - nearly 59%, Slovenia - 58%, Portugal - 56%, Sweden - 55%, Denmark and Estonia - 54% each and the Netherlands 52%.

According to Eurostat, this signals a new trend in the status of families compared to the traditional model. 

The number of illegitimate children increased in almost all EU member states in 2018 compared to 2000. Exceptions are Estonia, Latvia and Sweden, where it remains relatively stable. / vesti.bg

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