Roma in Bulgaria - Demographics

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, there are 325,343 Gypsies in Bulgaria, equivalent to 4.4% of the population, but as over 700,000 persons did not declared their ethnic group in the 2011 census, the overall number of the Gypsies is estimated at 500,000 as of 2011. The Roma are the third largest ethnic group in Bulgaria.

From the 1992 census to the 2001 census, the number of Roma in the country has increased by 57,512, or 18.4%. The Roma were only 2.8% in 1910 and 2.0% in 1920.

The Roma are present in all provinces of Bulgaria, their highest percentages in Montana Province (12.5%) and Sliven Province (12.3%) and their smallest percentage in Smolyan Province, where they number 686 – about 0.05% of the population.

There is no city, town or village in the country where Roma are the only ethnic group. The largest Roma quarters are Stolipinovo in Plovdiv and Fakulteta in Sofia. The number of places where Roma constitute more than 50% of the population has risen from the 1992 to the 2001 census.