Bulgaria, with the help of the Russian Empire, achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. In the decades before independence, Bulgaria's population had remained between 2.2 and 2.8 million people, and growth was much slower then the following century. Although most at the time assumed that it would become a Russian ally, Bulgaria defied the expectations and aligned itself with the western powers, and developed into a modern European state by the turn in the late 1800s. Bulgaria at war In the early twentieth century Bulgaria was involved in both World Wars, as well as two Balkan Wars. The Balkan states were unhappy with the borders assigned to them by the western powers, and instead wanted to re-draw them based on the dispersal of ethnic groups. This led to the first Balkan War in 1912, which saw Bulgaria fight alongside Greece and Serbia against the Ottomans. Bulgaria fought the second Balkan War on all sides, this time against Greece, Serbia, Romania and the Ottomans, as the dispute over borders continued. Bulgaria was defeated this time, and sustained heavy casualties, amassing in 58 thousand fatalities and over 100 thousand wounded in the two wars.

In the First World War, Bulgaria remained neutral at first, in order to recover from the previous wars, but then aligned itself with the Central powers in 1915, and played a vital role in maintaining their control in the Balkans. While Bulgaria was initially successful, its allies weakened as the war progressed, and then Bulgaria eventually succumbed to Allied forces and surrendered in 1918, with almost 200 thousand Bulgarians dying as a result of the war. The interwar years was a period of political and economic turmoil, and when control was re-established, Bulgaria was then able to maintain it's neutrality throughout most of the Second World War, (although there was some conflict and bombings in certain areas). Rise and fall of communism After the war, Bulgaria became a communist state, and life became harsh for the civil population there until the late 1950s when the standard of living rose again. In the late 1980s, like many Eastern European countries, Bulgaria experienced economic decline as the communist system began to collapse. Political failures also contributed to this, and approximately 300 thousand Bulgarian Turks migrated to Turkey, greatly weakening the agricultural economy. This trend of mass migration abroad continued after the fall of the iron curtain, as well as the rise of unemployment. Bulgaria reached it's peak population size in 1985 at 8.98 million inhabitants, but then the number decreases each year, and is expected to be 6.94 million in 2020. This drop in population size has been attributed to the economic collapse at the end of communism in Eastern Europe, causing many to leave the country in search of work elsewhere. Bulgaria also has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, with 8.7 births per 1,000 people per year (in 2018).

Historical dataset showing total population for Bulgaria by year from 1950 to 2025.

The total population in Bulgaria was estimated at 6.4 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Bulgaria Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 0-14 years was 14.10% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 0-14 years - last updated from the EUROSTAT on November of 2025. Historically, Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 0-14 years reached a record high of 14.20% in December of 2023 and a record low of 13.20% in December of 2011.

Time series data for the statistic Population ages 80 and above, female and country Bulgaria. Indicator Definition:Female population between the ages 80 and above.The indicator "Population ages 80 and above, female" stands at 211.49 Thousand as of 12/31/2024, the highest value at least since 12/31/1961, the period currently displayed. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes an increase of 1.88 percent compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percent is 1.88.The 3 year change in percent is 2.27.The 5 year change in percent is 0.8772.The 10 year change in percent is 3.24.The Serie's long term average value is 124.41 Thousand. It's latest available value, on 12/31/2024, is 70.00 percent higher, compared to it's long term average value.The Serie's change in percent from it's minimum value, on 12/31/1960, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2024, is +389.78%.The Serie's change in percent from it's maximum value, on 12/31/2024, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2024, is 0.0%.

Monthly and long-term Bulgaria Population data: historical series and analyst forecasts curated by FocusEconomics.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Sofia, Bulgaria metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This dataset is about countries per year in Bulgaria. It has 64 rows. It features 4 columns: country, hospital beds, and population.

Time series data for the statistic School age population, early childhood education, female (number) and country Bulgaria. Indicator Definition:The indicator "School age population, early childhood education, female (number)" stands at 128.52 Thousand as of 12/31/2019, the lowest value since 12/31/2010. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes a decrease of -5.04 percent compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percent is -5.04.The 3 year change in percent is -12.10.The 5 year change in percent is -12.48.The 10 year change in percent is 0.2371.The Serie's long term average value is 135.61 Thousand. It's latest available value, on 12/31/2019, is 5.23 percent lower, compared to it's long term average value.The Serie's change in percent from it's minimum value, on 12/31/2006, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2019, is +11.36%.The Serie's change in percent from it's maximum value, on 12/31/1998, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2019, is -23.68%.

Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 80 years and more was 5.20% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 80 years and more - last updated from the EUROSTAT on November of 2025. Historically, Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 80 years and more reached a record high of 5.20% in December of 2024 and a record low of 3.90% in December of 2010.

Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 50-64 years was 21.50% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 50-64 years - last updated from the EUROSTAT on December of 2025. Historically, Bulgaria - Proportion of population aged 50-64 years reached a record high of 21.70% in December of 2014 and a record low of 21.30% in December of 2019.

This dataset is about countries per year in Bulgaria. It has 64 rows. It features 4 columns: country, male population, and rural population.

Abstract

The Bulgaria Population, Housing and Agricultural Holding Census 2001 is the 17th Population and Housing Census in the demographic history of Bulgaria was conducted from 1st until 28th February 2011. For the first time Bulgaria has conducted a census as a Member state of the European Union, complying the requirements of the Regulation (EC) No 763/2008 of the European Parliament and of Council on population and housing censuses, as well as the related European regulations on technical format and data quality.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

• Individuals;
• Households.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The Regional Statistical Offices, within 50 days only, have entered nearly 4,200,000 questionnaires on population, 2,774,373 questionnaires on dwellings and 2,105,000 questionnaires on buildings. Each day on average 84,000 questionnaires on population, 55,490 questionnaires on dwellings and 42 100 questionnaires on building are entered.

Cleaning operations

Data entered from paper questionnaires is combined with the electronic data, followed by procedures for control of the quality and data coverage. The control included the removal of double enumerated persons, incorrect reference of a particular category or settlements, incorrect unique civil numbers, data entry mistakes, etc.

In compliance with Regulation (EU) No 1151/2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 763/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on population and housing censuses, as regards the modalities and structure of the quality report and the technical format for data transmission, the information from administrative sources is used. The estimates of the population not covered by the census are done in compliance with the statistical methodology and concern the definition of the population categories used during the census. As regards the coverage, the results are analyzed in comparison with other statistical sources - Information System “Demography”, data from administrative sources on students and pupils, insured persons, beneficiaries of pensions and others.

In parallel, a procedure for clarification and correction of incorrect unique civil numbers and finding missing unique civil numbers using the Information System “Demography” and other administrative sources is elaborated. These procedures are done at the NSI and the corrections are made for each separate case.

FocusEconomics' economic data is provided by official state statistical reporting agencies as well as our global network of leading banks, think tanks and consultancies. Our datasets provide not only historical data, but also Consensus Forecasts and individual forecasts from the aformentioned global network of economic analysts. This includes the latest forecasts as well as historical forecasts going back to 2010. Our global network consists of over 1000 world-renowned economic analysts from which we calculate our Consensus Forecasts. In this specific dataset you will find economic data for Bulgaria Population.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Varna, Bulgaria metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Plovdiv, Bulgaria metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This dataset is about countries per year in Bulgaria. It has 1 row and is filtered where the date is 2021. It features 3 columns: country, and rural population.

Population ages 15-64, total in Bulgaria was reported at 4091863 Persons in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Bulgaria - Population ages 15-64, total - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

Time series data for the statistic Wittgenstein Projection: Percentage of the population age 60+ by highest level of educational attainment. Upper Secondary. Male and country Bulgaria. Indicator Definition:Share of the population of the stated age group that has completed upper secondary or incomplete post-secondary education as the highest level of educational attainment. Projections are based on collected census and survey data for the base year (around 2010) and the Medium Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2) projection model. The SSP2 is a middle-of-the-road scenario that combines medium fertility with medium mortality, medium migration, and the Global Education Trend (GET) education scenario. For more information and other projection models, consult the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital's website: http://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/dataexplorer/

This dataset is about countries per year in Bulgaria. It has 1 row and is filtered where the date is 2021. It features 4 columns: country, incidence of HIV, and male population.