Urban population in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Urban population was 74.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Bulgaria, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in Bulgaria stood at 74.2%. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Bulgaria peaked at 74.2% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 37.1%, in 1960.
Bulgaria ranks 76th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 37.1% | — |
| 1961 | 38.4% | +3.5% |
| 1962 | 39.3% | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 40.3% | +2.5% |
| 1964 | 43.0% | +6.9% |
| 1965 | 45.7% | +6.2% |
| 1966 | 47.0% | +2.9% |
| 1967 | 48.0% | +2.1% |
| 1968 | 49.0% | +2.1% |
| 1969 | 50.6% | +3.2% |
| 1970 | 52.3% | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 53.8% | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 55.2% | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 56.3% | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 58.1% | +3.2% |
| 1975 | 58.0% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 58.5% | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 59.4% | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 60.5% | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 61.5% | +1.6% |
| 1980 | 62.1% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 63.0% | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 63.9% | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 64.6% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 65.6% | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 65.0% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 65.3% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 66.0% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 66.7% | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 67.3% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 67.0% | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 67.1% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 67.2% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 67.4% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 67.7% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 67.8% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 67.7% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 67.7% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 67.9% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 68.0% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 68.3% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 69.2% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 69.5% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 69.8% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 69.9% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 70.1% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 70.5% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 70.7% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 70.9% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 71.3% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 71.5% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 72.6% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 72.8% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 73.0% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 73.1% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 73.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 73.2% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 73.4% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 73.6% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 73.7% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 73.3% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 73.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 73.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 73.7% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 73.9% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 74.2% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 43.8% | 37.1% | 50.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 57.4% | 52.3% | 61.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 65.0% | 62.1% | 67.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 67.6% | 67.0% | 68.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.0% | 68.3% | 71.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.0% | 71.5% | 73.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.7% | 73.3% | 74.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More climate change data for Bulgaria
- 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)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3.32 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Bulgaria?
- Urban population in Bulgaria was 74.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 74.2% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.1% in 1960.
- How does Bulgaria rank for urban population?
- Bulgaria ranks 76th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). 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
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.