Rural population in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Rural population was 1.66 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Bulgaria, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Bulgaria stood at 1.66 million. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Bulgaria peaked at 4.95 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 1.66 million, in 2025.
That places Bulgaria 108th out of 215 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.58 million | 4.17 million | 4.95 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.70 million | 3.40 million | 4.05 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.13 million | 2.90 million | 3.35 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.74 million | 2.62 million | 2.87 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.32 million | 2.14 million | 2.59 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.90 million | 1.74 million | 2.11 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.70 million | 1.66 million | 1.75 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 105 Mauritania 2.05 million compare
- 106 Ireland 1.94 million compare
- 107 Belarus 1.86 million compare
- 109 Croatia 1.64 million compare
- 110 United Arab Emirates 1.62 million compare
- 111 El Salvador 1.56 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for Bulgaria
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Rural population 25.8% (2025)
- Rural population growth -1.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.5% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.98 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 5,224 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 10.35 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 128.29 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Bulgaria?
- Rural population in Bulgaria was 1.66 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 4.95 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.66 million in 2025.
- How does Bulgaria rank for rural population?
- Bulgaria ranks 108th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural 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
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.