Costs of Bulgarian Labour Migration and Labour Mobility: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The opening of the borders after the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union in 2007 created better job and life opportunities abroad for many Bulgarians, but caused a demographic decline in the country. The extensive out-migration over the last 30 years reduced Bulgaria’s population from 8,987,000 in 1989 to 6,981,047 in 2019 and created a profound impact on the country and on its economy. As a consequence, the nation is in a demographic crisis as the most depopulating one in Europe, facing issues such as brain-drain, slowdown of population growth, and reduction of the working-age population.

The impact of labor migration and the resulting unfavorable long-term demographic trends lead to a series of negative consequences for family size, family composition, and intergenerational transfers. Alongside the negative consequences for the Bulgarian state and the economy, labor migration also had a positive economic impact. On the one hand, for the migrants themselves due to the opportunities for higher wages in the host countries, for achieving social stability as well as acquiring new professional and social experience. On the other hand, for the Bulgarian state due to the transfer of skills, knowledge and remittances.