Population Ageing and Longevity in Bulgaria (1947-2015)
Population Ageing and Longevity in Bulgaria (1947-2015)

Summary/Abstract: 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.

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