In 30 years, Bulgaria will count over 1 million Roma. Premature mortality as well as low levels of education will continue to be a problem, according to a study by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
There is more than double the discrepancy between the number of Roma minority registered by Bulgarian statistics and expert estimates of its real number. According to experts in the field, Roma currently make up about 12 percent of the country's population, while data from the latest census show a share of 4.7 percent.
The reason for the difference is that many Roma continue to declare themselves as Bulgarians or Turks.
This is clear from a study of the demographic and social challenges facing the difficult integration of Roma into Bulgarian society, presented today by the Sofia office of the German political foundation Friedrich Ebert.
The results of the demographic forecast made in the study show that in 30 years the number of Roma in Bulgaria is expected to reach 1 to 1.2 million people. Experts predict that despite a significant decline in the last decade, the number of births of Roma women of reproductive age will remain at least twice as high as the national average. The share of Roma children among the minority will continue to be compared for three decades in many African countries.
Half of the Roma in Bulgaria are illiterate.
Link: https://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2020/10/21/4129719_i_sled_30_godini_romite_shte_rajdat_rano_i_shte/
