With a draft amendment to the Territorial Planning Act, approved by the Council of Ministers on March 26, 2009, it is determined that a large city is a city with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 people, and a very large city – with a population of more than 200,000 people.
There are only a few cities in our country that meet these criteria. Stara Zagora, Ruse and Burgas are the only three cities in Bulgaria with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 people and are defined as large cities. There are only three cities whose population is over 200,000 and are defined as very large cities. Quite expectedly, the most populated city in Bulgaria is the capital Sofia, but which are the other two very large cities and which is the third largest city in Bulgaria?
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The third largest city in Bulgaria
The leader in terms of population is Sofia with 1,221,172 registered residents according to the data from the last population census in 2021. It is followed by Plovdiv with a population almost 4 times smaller – 343,070 people. The third largest city in Bulgaria has a population that is slightly smaller than that of the second – 332,686 people and is Varna.
It is a curious fact that while the population of the capital has been progressively increasing over the years from 1946 to today, the population of Plovdiv and Varna is decreasing, albeit slightly, compared to the last census in 2011. Before 2011, in these two cities – the second and third largest cities in Bulgaria – we observed a growth in the number of the population. This is to be expected, given that large and very large cities offer excellent opportunities for business, work, services, transport, education and raising children, in contrast to villages and small towns where life is significantly more difficult, and conditions – much less and of lower quality. Low wages in small towns compared to wages and working conditions in large cities in Bulgaria is also a criterion that is decisive for the depopulation of villages and the overpopulation of large cities.
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Distribution of population by sex in the third largest city in Bulgaria
The entire Varna region is inhabited by more than 400,000 people, distributed in 12 municipalities, 11 cities and 148 villages, and the city of Varna itself ranks as the third largest city in Bulgaria with a population of 332,686 people, with women slightly more than men – 172,399 women against 160,287 men – indicate the NSI data from the last census in 2021 and valid as of December 31 last year. In terms of area, however, the district is not in third place in Bulgaria, but in 12th place. That is, when we talk about the third largest city in Bulgaria, we should specify that the criterion is the number of inhabitants, since the third largest city in Bulgaria would be different in terms of area.
Distribution of the population by age in the third largest city in Bulgaria
Almost 94,000 children under the age of 18 are raised in the Varna region, almost 118,000 are young people in the active age between 18 and 39, and mature people between the ages of 40 and 65 are almost 168,000 people, that is, it is the most – the numerous group in the district. Young people and children generally inhabit the cities in the Varna region and the third largest city in Bulgaria, where living conditions are much better than in the villages.
