Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The number of believers has decreased by 9 percent for 10 years

Photo: EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria ranks last in the EU with just 12 priests per 100,000 people. There are more than 8,000 churches and monasteries in the country, or 10 times more temples than clergy, according to the latest national census of 2021.

51.4% or 3 million said they believe in God. 24.7% declared themselves non-believers. 13 percent could not define if they are believers and 11% did not want to answer. During the previous census in 2011, 60.4% said they were religious and 22% declared themselves non-religious. 4,219,270 people (71.5%) of those who answered the question identified themselves as Christians. 97% of Christians are Orthodox. In 1992, 86.7% of the respondents were Christians. Protestants are 1.7%, Catholics are 0.9% and Armenian Christians - 0.1%. Muslims are 638,708 or 10.8% of the respondents; Jewish people are 1,736, while 6,451 people profess other religions.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Support for protesting Serbian students in Pirot.

Bulgarians and Serbs from Tsaribrod and Pirot support student protests

Bulgarians and Serbs from the towns of Tsaribrod and Pirot marched in support of the student protests in Serbia , reports BTA. "We want the students' demands to be met and we hope that there will be changes in Serbia," demonstrators from the two towns in..

published on 2/16/25 10:27 AM

Balkan Stream pipeline exempted from US sanctions on Gazprombank transactions until March 2025

The Balkan Stream gas pipeline will not be subject to US sanctions for transactions with Russia's Gazprombank. This was revealed in a written answer to a parliamentary question to Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov. On December 23, 2024, the Ministry of..

published on 2/16/25 9:45 AM
Timco Mucunski (L) and Georg Georgiev (R)

North Macedonia's EU membership goes through the inclusion of Bulgarians in its constitution

Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev met with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski during the Munich Security Conference. Georg Georgiev emphasized that Bulgaria's position regarding the European integration of North..

published on 2/15/25 5:25 PM