According to forecasts of the European Commission, the population of Bulgaria will decrease to 5.5 million by 2060.

This was revealed by the 2015 Ageing Report: Economic and budgetary projections for the 28 EU Member States in the period 2013-2060, which was published on Tuesday.

According to the data, the Bulgarian population in 2013 was 7.3 million and it will decrease by 1.8 million over the examined period.

The population of the EU is expected to rise to 522.8 million in 2060, increasing from 507.2 million in 2013.

The life expectancy among Bulgarian men is expected to increase from 71.1 to 81.6 years, while that for women is to register a similar rise from 78 to 86.4 years.

The share of the Bulgarian population aged under 14 years, is set to increase slightly over the period, rising from 13.7 % in 2013 to 14.1 % in 2060.

The share of the working age Bulgarian population, those aged between 15 and 64 years, is set to decrease from 67 % in 2013 to 54.2 % in 2060.

The share of the population of people aged 65 and above is set to increase from 19.4 % in 2013 to 31.7 % in 2060.

Bulgaria is foreseen to expend 9.4 % of its GDP on pensions in 2060, while the corresponding figure in the EU will be 11.2 %.

According to the forecast, Bulgaria will expend 4.4 % of its GDP on healthcare in 2060, while the respective figure in the EU will be 7.8 %.

The projections foresee that Bulgaria will expend 3.4 % of its GDP on education in 2060, while the corresponding figure in the EU will be 4.6 %.

The share of the working age population in the EU (15-64) will decrease from 66 % in 2013 to 56.6 %, which means that the proportion of workers supporting retired people will halve from an average of four to just two.