Bulgaria has the lowest life expectancy in the European Union, 5.7 years below the EU average. Health economist Arkadi Sharkov presented the Eurostat figures at a national medical conference on longevity with international participants. The Bulgarian Longevity Association organised it.

Sharkov said Bulgarians live about 75 years on average, against about 81 across the EU. Bulgaria ranks third for years spent in good health.

Data from the National Statistical Institute for 2025 show that one in four Bulgarians is 65 or older, and 62 in every 100 people are of working age. People over 65 make up 24.3% of the population. That share is expected to reach 26.5% in 2050 and 30.2% in 2070.

In 2026, men retire at 64 years and 9 months, and women at 62 years and 6 months. In 2025, men drew a pension for 19.7 years on average, and women for 26.5. Sharkov said today's pensioners will draw theirs for a shorter time.

Between 11% and 12% of people have no health insurance. One in three people of working age had a gap in cover in 2020–2022.

Sharkov named five priorities: measuring and analysing the data, preventing the causes that cut lives short, incentives for services and staff where the population is shrinking fastest, funding, and planning.

Researcher and geographer Georgi Bardarov presented three new demographic models: low birth rates, a steadily rising average life expectancy, and a global shift of populations. He explained that very high birth rates once made up for high death rates, so today's trends are logical. People moved in the past too, he said, but without such advanced technology, transport and information. Bardarov said these are normal processes and there is no reason to panic.

Dr Nikolay Branzalov, head of the Bulgarian Medical Union, praised the organisers for putting longevity at the centre of the event. He said it is increasingly becoming a business built on unregulated products, so doctors must understand the processes and protect patients from unreliable information.

Dr Rayna Stoyanova, head of the association, said big progress has been made over recent decades. She said longevity depends not only on genes, diet and exercise, but on how economic factors, lifestyle and access to good healthcare work together. No single field can cover all the factors, she said, but together they can change how we age. She also read out a welcome letter from Sofia mayor Vasil Terziev, who congratulated the organisers and stressed the value of knowledge about longevity.

Alexander Simidchiev, of the Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group, listed what leads to early death: behaviour and habits account for 40%, genetic predisposition 30%, social conditions 15%, medical care 10% and the environment 5%. He said responsibility can be viewed in two ways, as the state's and as the individual's.

Only the system can look after the environment and air quality, set excise duties on tobacco and alcohol, and limit salt and sugar in food, he said. It is also responsible for affordable preventive check-ups and tests that catch diseases early. Personal responsibility lies in habits: cutting down on or quitting smoking and living healthily.

Simidchiev noted that the longest proven human life belongs to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived 122 years and 164 days. He said her record is a biological standard that people can aim for. That is why he values the national health strategy from 2024. It has measures with targets that can be measured, but it has been "thrown into some drawer", he said.