Asylum Seekers in Bulgaria Increased 5 Times in 2013

The number of asylum seekers in Bulgaria has increased five times in 2013 compared with 2012, according to a report on the implementation of the revised National Program for Demographic Development until 2013.

In 2013, the number of asylum seekers in Bulgaria exceeded 7,000, which is over five times more than in 2012 and ten times more than in the previous years.

"The development of political processes in the region creates a trend of instability in migration flows and expectations of a significant and sustained pressure on Bulgaria's borders," the document reads.

A total of 2,462 people received humanitarian/refugee status in 2013. By mid March this year only, some 1,900 people have sought asylum, and 2,450 were given refugee status. Ninety percent of them are Syrian nationals, over 1,000 of whom are children.

The share of foreign citizens in Bulgaria is less than 1% of the population, one of the lowest in the European Union, Dnevnik notes. Depending on the global and regional economic and political processes, this share could dramatically increase.