Population, total in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Population, total was 6.43 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
6.43 million
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
111th
of 218 countries
All-time high
8.98 million
in 1988
All-time low
6.43 million
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Population, total in Bulgaria, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 6.43 million for population, total in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 7.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population, total in Bulgaria peaked at 8.98 million in 1988 and was at its lowest, 6.43 million, in 2025.
That places Bulgaria 111th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Population, total in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 7.87 million | — |
| 1961 | 7.94 million | +1.0% |
| 1962 | 8.01 million | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 8.08 million | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 8.14 million | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 8.20 million | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 8.26 million | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 8.31 million | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 8.37 million | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 8.43 million | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 8.49 million | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 8.54 million | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 8.58 million | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 8.62 million | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 8.68 million | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 8.72 million | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 8.76 million | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 8.80 million | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 8.81 million | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 8.83 million | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 8.86 million | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 8.89 million | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 8.92 million | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 8.94 million | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 8.96 million | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 8.96 million | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 8.96 million | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 8.97 million | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 8.98 million | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 8.88 million | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 8.72 million | -1.8% |
| 1991 | 8.63 million | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 8.54 million | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 8.47 million | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 8.44 million | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 8.41 million | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 8.36 million | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 8.31 million | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 8.26 million | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 8.21 million | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 8.17 million | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 8.01 million | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 7.84 million | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 7.78 million | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 7.72 million | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 7.66 million | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 7.60 million | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 7.55 million | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 7.49 million | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 7.44 million | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 7.40 million | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 7.35 million | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 7.31 million | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 7.16 million | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 7.07 million | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 6.98 million | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 6.89 million | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 6.80 million | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 6.71 million | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 6.62 million | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 6.55 million | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 6.51 million | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 6.47 million | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 6.45 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 6.44 million | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 6.43 million | -0.1% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 6.43 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.97 million, 2.2× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 6.43 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.01 million, 1.1× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.16 million | 7.87 million | 8.43 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.68 million | 8.49 million | 8.83 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.93 million | 8.86 million | 8.98 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.44 million | 8.21 million | 8.72 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.73 million | 7.44 million | 8.17 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.03 million | 6.62 million | 7.40 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.47 million | 6.43 million | 6.55 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More climate change data for Bulgaria
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 176.16 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,923 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 704.34 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,219 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 2.66 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 79.24 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,439 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,346 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 92.96 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 5.08 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population, total in Bulgaria?
- Population, total in Bulgaria was 6.43 million in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population, total recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 8.98 million in 1988.
- What is the lowest population, total recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.43 million in 2025.
- How does Bulgaria rank for population, total?
- Bulgaria ranks 111th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population, total rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.