Bulgaria Flag

Bulgaria

Capital:
Sofia
Continent:
Europe
Region(s):
Eastern Europe
Largest Cities:
Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna
Abbreviation:
BGR

6.7M
Total Population
110
Population Rank
61.85
Density (km²)
-43.1K -0.64%
Annual Population Growth

Population of Bulgaria

Bulgaria's population structure shows a somewhat lower male to female ratio of 0.94 to 1, with a median male age of 43.56 years old and a median female age of 47.54 years old. The highest concentration of adults under 75 years old is in the 49 and 48 year-old age groups, while the lowest concentration is in the 26 and 27 year-old age groups.

Bulgaria Population

Data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

Bulgaria Population Clock

Bulgaria Population*
6,731,637
Births per Day
165
Deaths per Day
281
Emigrations per Day
8
Net Change per Day
124
2025 Population Change*
5,332

* As of 2/12/2025

1 birth

Every 8.7 minutes

1 death

Every 5.1 minutes

1 emigrant

Every 3.0 hours

1 person

Every 11.6 minutes

Population by City

City
2025 Pop.
Sofia1,152,556
Plovdiv340,494
Varna312,770
Burgas195,966
Ruse156,238
Stara Zagora143,431
Pleven118,675

Bulgaria Overview

Bulgaria Demographics

Approximately 85% of the population is Bulgarian, with other major ethnic groups being Turkish (8.8%), Roma (4.9%) and about 40 small minority groups totaling 0.7%. Bulgarian is the official language of the country, and it is the native language for over 85% of the country’s residents.

Free public education in primary and secondary schools has contributed to the literacy rate of 98.6%.

While Bulgaria has a universal healthcare system, the poor quality of health facilities and the lack of medical personnel such as nurses is cause for many residents to seek medical treatment in other countries.

The life expectancy of 74.5 is ranked 78th in the world.

There are 1,053 females for every 1,000 males. Life expectancy for females in Bulgaria is 78 years, while the number drops to just 71.1 for males.

Bulgaria Religion, Economy and Politics

Bulgaria is a secular country, however, its constitution names Orthodox Christianity as a traditional religion and one that was followed by almost 60% of the population as of 2011. A 2018 update gives a breakdown of approximately 59.4% Eastern Orthodox following, Muslim at 7.8%, and other religions at 1.7%.

The Bulgarian economy is a free market, upper-middle-income, and industrialized. The most profitable industries in Bulgaria are in energy, mining, metallurgy, machine building, agriculture, and tourism. Post-communist-era in the 1980s, the economy shifted from exporting all of the aforementioned, towards producing biochemicals and computers. The national currency is called the lev and is worth roughly half of one euro.

The political system in Bulgaria is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, meaning that there is a Prime minister that leads all of the government and the nation’s multi-party system. The president is elected by the people to serve a five-year term, and their primary roles include being the Commander in Chief of the military and maintaining foreign relations. The executive portion of the government is made up of the Council of Minister which is appointed by the National Assembly, which is made up of 240 elected members serving 4-year terms. The legislative branch is a single-chambered parliament. The judiciary is made up of regional courts, district courts and appeal courts.

Bulgaria Population History

Humans have lived in the area that is now Bulgaria, for thousands of years, and the region was part of some of the major empires throughout history including Byzantine and Ottoman. Bulgaria declared itself an independent kingdom in 1908.

Bulgaria lost more people per capita than any other country in World War II, suffering over 100,000 casualties. Germany occupied the area during the Second World War, and Bulgaria created a new constitution as a one-party state when the war ended. The newly formed Communist Party was lead by Todor Zhivkov, who later became president in 1971. In the mid-1980s, Zhivkov began forcing Turks in the country to assimilate and take Slavic names, causing roughly 300,000 people to leave the country.