This article contains a short review of some of the most significant studies in the area of formal demography completed by researchers from the BAS demography research unit. The review covers a 30-year period of existence of the unit (1990 – today) and includes only a fraction of the most important scientific contributions significant for the development of demography, for the explanation of Bulgaria’s demographic development and for the improvement of the society’s evolution. The results obtained indicate that the studies considered treat the most acute demographic problems faced by the country in the last decades, arising from the established regime of demographic reproduction.

The aim of the study is to outline the similarities and differences in fertility intentions of contemporary young generations in Bulgaria. The analysis is focused on the people in reproductive age belonging to different social groups. Data from European Social Survey-2010 were used. This wave of the survey includes а question about fertility intentions in the near future (next three years). A descriptive analysis and logistic regression models of the similarities and differences in fertility intentions among the respondents from different social groups defined by gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, education and health status were applied. The results show that gender, age, ethnicity, education and place of residence have strong differentiating effect on individuals’ intentions of having a child in the near future.

Male and female age-specific mortality rates and their impact on life expectancy and longevity in Bulgaria over the period 1947–2015 are investigated by using the general framework of life tables. A comprehensive picture of the demographic ageing is presented considering the processes in their interconnections. We have used the normal length-of-life model, the modal age at death, and some indicators of death concentration around the modal age, in order to get an insight into trends in mortality and survival at older ages. Our calculations were based on demographic data from the Human Mortality Database and the Eurostat database. Since the end of the last century, female and male life expectancy has increased again, after a long period of stagnation and decline. This increase has reached all ages, while maintaining gender differences at low and middle ages. It is more strongly related to decreasing mortality at older ages than at middle and young ages. However, the rate of increase in life expectancy is not fast enough to offset the previous long-lasting negative trends. The displacement of the modal age at death to higher ages is more prominent in women; this is related to an increasing frequency and concentration of deaths around the modal age, while premature mortality is relatively stable. There is a growing gender gap due to the constant increase in premature mortality of men.

The article discusses the quality of jobs and employment in Bulgaria through the prism of labour remuneration, the polarisation of employment and the high values of material deprivation among employees. Results of sociological research and comparative data with other EU Member States are presented. These results outline the very unfavourable situation in Bulgaria as a consequence of specific policies of distribution and redistribution. As a matter of comparison, this paper discusses the design of these policies in Ireland, on the one hand, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, on the other. The choice of these countries is justified by the fact that, through active distribution and redistribution policies, they are able to create a much better socio-economic context. The low bargaining power of the employed is considered the main reason for the very unfavourable picture in Bulgaria. It is argued that a purposeful and massive reconstruction of public policies and regulatory frameworks is needed in order to achieve a development based on quality employment and directed towards internal cohesion of the highly disintegrated Bulgarian society. Such measures are also crucial for improving the demographic situation in the country.

This paper aims at identifying the existing capacity among the inhabitants of three fragile communities in Bulgaria and to highlight the prospects for their socio-economic development. The results of a conducted under an Erasmus+ funded project survey and organised semi-structured interviews with members of the three fragile communities selected to participate in the project in the country, namely: the town of Knezha, the town of Roman and the village of Dolna Beshovitsa, are presented, discussed and analysed. The results of the study clearly show that, despite the fact that their environment has been deteriorating and has reached a situation characterised as “fragile”, the community members still possess the potential to responsibly and autonomously employ a set of preselected skills for reversing the negative trend and to succeed in contributing for the betterment of their communities.

The paper analyses the impact ethnicity structure of on the process of refusal to accept monks of the Rila Monastery and the closure of its convents in the Bulgarian settlements. Two urban centres are under consideration, Gabrovo and Nevrokop, characterised by a different ethnicity structure. While Gabrovo is a purely Bulgarian settlement, Nevrokop has a mixed population. The author analyses the intensity of the processes and the influence of the different ethnic groups with their economic and political possibilities to achieve the desired results.