site.btaNon-EU Citizens Represent 1% of Bulgaria's Population

ESD 16:54:01 16-03-2019
VE1653ES.105
105 ECONOMY - BULGARIA - MIGRATION

Non-EU Citizens
Represent 1% of
Bulgaria's Population


Sofia, March 16 (BTA) - As at January 1, 2018, some 71,000 people with citizenship of a non-EU country were residing in Bulgaria, representing about 1 per cent of Bulgaria's population of 7,050,000, the Statistical Office of the European Commission (Eurostat) says in an analysis.

At the same time, 13,000 people with citizenship of another EU member state were also living in Bulgaria, accounting for 0.2 per cent of Bulgaria's population.

The country's resident population also included 1,870 stateless persons.

The countries represented by the largest number of residents in Bulgaria as at January 1, 2018 were Russia (22,000), Turkey and Syria (12,800 each), and Ukraine (6,000).

Bulgaria has experienced relatively low migratory pressure over the last couple of years compared to other EU member states. In 2018, a total of 2,536 foreigners sought protection in the country. Only 317 of them received refugee status, while 1,362 were denied such status.

In January 2019, just 147 people sought protection in Bulgaria and 26 of them received refugee status. LN/VE
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