site.btaSofia Is Bulgaria's Most Densely Populated City, Vidin Is the Least

Sofia Is Bulgaria's Most Densely Populated City, Vidin Is the Least

Sofia, April 7 (BTA) - Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was this country's most densely populated city in 2015, according to Eurostat figures.

By the end of 2015, approximately 1.2 million people lived in Sofia, and the population density was 1,030 inhabitants per square km. Some 95 per cent of Sofianites inhabited the city proper, and just 5 per cent the suburbs.

Bulgaria's second largest city, Plovdiv, had a population of over 670,000 and a density of 115 inhabitants per sq km. Varna came in third, with some 470,000 population and a density of 126 people per sq km.

At the other end of the scale, Vidin was the least densely populated regional capital (pop. 58,000, density 31/sq km), followed by Lovech (pop. 82,000, density 32/sq km), Montana (pop. 87,000, density 39/sq km), Turgovishte (pop. 62,000, density 43 sq/km), and Razgrad (pop. 55,000, density 50 sq/km).

As many as 73 per cent of Bulgarians are urban dwellers, and just 27 per cent live in rural areas. The National Statistical Institute says that out of 5,000 villages in this country, 571 became totally depopulated or were left with a single inhabitant last year. The most numerous such villages were in the regions of Gabrovo and Veliko Turnovo (North Central Bulgaria).