The latest Eurostat report on the acquisition of citizenship in the EU show that 99 % of the 1,275 people who acquired Bulgarian citizenship in 2015 were third country nationals. The top 3 of countries of origin was made of Ukraine (17.6%), followed by Russia (16.8%) and Turkey (14%).

Bulgaria's naturalisation rate – meaning the ratio of people who acquired the citizenship over the stock of foreign residents in the country - was below the EU average: less than 2 out of 100, compared to 2.4 out of 100 EU-wide. However, the proportion of third country nationals among naturalised migrants in Bulgaria is higher than the EU average: 99 against 87%. In total, 840,000 individuals acquired citizenship of an EU Member State in 2015 and more 5,000,000 people since 2010.

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