[size=75:1nlgqqyb]novinite 12 January 2010

Bulgaria Capital Sofia Grew by 26 000 in 4 Years

Bulgaria's capital Sofia grew by 26 000 residents between 2004 and 2008, data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reveals.

Official data shows that 1 221 157 people lived in Sofia in 2004 while in 2008 they have been 1 247 059. The number, however, only includes those with permanent addresses. Unofficial estimates list Sofia's residents at over 2 million, with a staggering number of people, who do not register their addresses in the capital.

Meanwhile, the population in the entire Southwestern Region is decreasing with the villages and towns near Sofia loosing the most residents – in 2008 they are down by 7 812 compared to 2003. The same trend is valid for the Region's largest cities such as Blagoevgrad, Pernik and Kyustendil.

NSI experts point out the trend for people to relocate to largest cities and especially to the capital is something common for countries that have made the transition to market economy.

In the spring of 2008, NSI published data showing the Bulgarian population is going down in all regions, except in those of Sofia, Varna and Burgas. The Northwestern Region, where the cities of Vidin, Vratsa, Montana and Pleven are located, is loosing people the fast. There are 144 villages without even 1 resident in Bulgaria's Northwest.

By the end of 2008, Bulgaria had a population of 7,6 million people and 70% of them lived in cities and larger towns.

Ok folks, now after reading this article (although the NSI statistics are not always accurate due to their methods of gathering info), what do you think of the level of demand of new residential in Sofia, Varna and Bourgas?

Well it’s obvious from what's said the demand is increasing quite quickly, and the property in the villages is plentiful, which I suppose should mean the Sofia and Varna for example the property should escalate in price while the villages will go down for some time to come? But I wonder which will be the better investment? i'ts hard to say because the investors are from all parts of the world with different requirements there will be those that want to live in a big City and those who will want the quiet life in my opinion I still believe the village houses are the better investment long term and I also believe that the demand there will grow in the future as more and more people move into the cities and the housing market can no longer cope people will have to commute from the villages which will raise the prices with the demand