Negative trends in the development of the rural population in Bulgaria are associated with accelerated decline in its numbers, its uneven spatial distribution and permanent alterations in its structural characteristics. As a result of the strongly marked aging of the rural population remains almost ubiquitous downsizing of reproductive and working age. This is a significant social problem, especially in remote and small population settlements. As negative from the perspective of demographic and economic development of rural communities in the country can also be determined and changes in sex ratio in some age groups, family, marriage, education and qualification structure of the population.

Dynamics in the development of demographic processes and changes in the structures of the population in recent decades have influenced the main systems of society: economic, educational, health insurance and social protection system. Demographic situation in Bulgarian cities deteriorated over the past 25 years. This is especially characteristic of small towns whose population decreased by high rates. Migration of young people from these settlements leads to reduced economic potential and worsening demographic potential. Generally have the same fate and cities in our country.

The importance of education and the educational structure of the population to overall socio-economic development has set their inclusion as structure-item in the Human Development Index used in the United Nations Development Programme. Quality education is one of the main prerequisites for the development of each society. Amid general negative quantitative and qualitative changes in our population keeps some positive trends relating to its educational level. Raising the education of the population of Bulgaria in XX century remains a trend at the beginning of the present century.

The paper studies the past and contemporary marriage rates in Bulgaria. The analysis starts with the marriage patterns after the Liberation, when high marriage rates were observed, especially after the war periods. During socialism, the family was perceived as the main functioning cell of society and the marriage rates continued to be relatively high. In the 1990s and the beginning of the new century, a change in the marital behavior was observed – a significant postponement of entry into marriage and motherhood led to a family model that had not been common in the past. The authors also conclude that there are different stages in the marriage patterns in Bulgaria – both historically and spatially. The different factors affecting these processes are also studied and discussed in the paper.

The emergence and development of the settlements and settlement network is determined by the operation of various factors and conditions. In addition to the determining role of the socio-economic factors, of importance are also the changes related to the peculiarities and trends in the demographic processes. The periods of peaceful development and economic stabilization usually lead to population growth and positive changes in the urban network. In the case of Bulgaria, this correlation has manifested itself in its new and recent history, since the Liberation (1878) to the beginning of the 21st century. The processes of economic stabilization during the peacetime periods in the last century were accompanied by positive development of the existing settlement network in the country. An exception is the adverse change resulting from the demographic crisis that occurred in the second half of the 20th century. As a result of the serious demographic situation and the issuing depopulation process, there occurred significant changes in the number and size of settlements. The decreasing population of the country has affected most seriously the rural areas and has resulted in a growing number of villages with a minimum population. The negative trends in the demographic development have also affected the development of the towns. Despite the significant increase in the number of towns since World War II, the towns also saw a population decrease that began at the end of the last century. A typical example in this regard is the decreasing number of larger towns in the country with a population of over 100 thousand inhabitants.