Migration of Bulgarian Population – Characteristics and Relations to the Regional Socio-economic Disparities

The paper suggests a short overview of migration processes in Bulgaria since the start of its democratization and transition to market economy. The socio-demographic structure of both potential and return migrants is evaluated empirically using a large sample data for 2013 representative for Bulgarian population aged 18-65. On the basis of a ranking of Bulgarian regions and districts by an integral score of their socio-economic development (involving a set of development indicators) a range of regional disparities are revealed in respect of migration potential, return migration, and remittances allocation and utilization. The rich empirical evidence suggests that Bulgarian migration policies should emphasize substantially on the issues of regional disbalances in order to offset the evaluated distortions.