site.btaCabinet Approves Annual Report on State of Citizens' Health in 2022

At a sitting here on Thursday, the Council of Ministers adopted the annual report on the state of citizens' health in 2022, the Government Information Service reported. According to the report, the downward trend in birth rate continued last year, with a drop by 2,082 in the number of live births compared to 2021. At the same time, the total fertility rate rose to 8.8% from the previous year's 8.5%, nearing the EU's level of 8.7%.

In 2022, Bulgaria's total mortality rate dropped to 18.4% from 21.7% in 2021 but remained the highest in the EU, where the average rate was 11.5% last year. The drop is explained with the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed 9,000 lives in 2022 compared to 27,588 lives in 2021.

The level of child mortality was 4.8% last year, the lowest registered thus far. In comparison, it stood at 5.6% in 2021. 

Last year was the first to see an increase in moribidity from malignant neoplasms (405.8%, compared to 392.3% in 2021, 399.3% in 2020 and 434.9% in 2019). The highest morbidity was observed in mammary gland cancer (92.2%), stomach cancer (90.2%), and penile cancer (81.4%).

In the last years, Bulgaria experienced a lasting downward trend in morbidity from active tuberculosis from 39.1 per 100,000 back in 2006 to 11.9 per 100,000 in 2022.

The report also covers activities for protecting public health, state sanitary control, the implementation of the immunization calendar, and the programmes, projects, and plans in the field of public health.

The data and analyses lead to the conclusion that the state of public health and citizens' health are not at the necessary level compared to the data in other countries. Chronic non-infectious diseases remain a serious challenge; they are a main cause of deaht and decreased work ability.