This was the first English language medicine programme in Bulgaria. As of the 2000s, Medical University Pleven has had 4081 Bulgarian and 582 foreign students from 45 countries, and has about 750 new students every year, of which 2/3 are Bulgarians and the rest foreigners, 50-60% of whom are from India. Since Bulgaria's ascension to the European Union in 2007, most international students originate from other EU member states.