3 M Bulgarians Left Homeland since Fall of Communism

Society | August 26, 2013, Monday // 12:02|  views

Millions of Bulgarians have left and are leaving their homeland in search of better live, file photo

Nearly three million Bulgarians have left their homeland to live abroad in the last 23 years since the fall of the Communist regime.

This is unofficial data collected through the effort of the Bulgarian 24 Chassa (24 Hours) daily.

Official stats list the number at 2.1 M in 2011, but it has always been said that it is too low, compared to the real exodus.

Turkey remains the country with the largest Bulgaria expat community. Official data shows that half million people with Bulgarian passports reside there. However, the majority of them left Bulgaria before 1989, when the Communist regime decided to forcefully change their Muslim names to Christian Orthodox in the so-called Revival Process.

300 000 Bulgarians have left for the USA, another 300 000 for Greece, and 250 000 for Spain, according to official data. However, unofficial censuses, conducted by Bulgarian associations and by other means, point at much higher number of Bulgarian emigrants in these three countries.

Anywhere between 30 000 and 150 000 Bulgarians live in Canada, depending on the source; between 70 000 and 80 000 are in Brazil and Argentina.

There are Bulgarians in all regions of Great Britain. According to official British and Bulgarian statistics, they are 50 000, but in reality this number could be double and more.

Official stats list Bulgarians in Italy at 51 000; unofficial at 120 000. The largest community is in Milan – 10 000.

Officially, there are 19 000 Bulgarians in Cyprus, but unofficially their number reaches 40 000.

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Tags: Cyprus, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, canada, Spain, USA, greece, Revival Process, turkey, official stats, emigrants, expats, communist regime, homeland, Bulgarians

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