Bulgaria Population Clock

Bulgaria has an estimated population of about 6.43 million, which makes it the 103rd most populous of the 115 countries tracked here.

Its population is slowly shrinking, at -0.13% a year.

The capital is Sofia.

The counter below is a live estimate interpolated from the World Bank's latest annual figures — not a real-time measurement. It links to its source, base year and method via the next to it.

Bulgaria population right now
Estimated, interpolated from the annual growth rate

Statistics

#103
World rank by population
-0.13%
Annual growth rate
146
Births per day
275
Deaths per day

Population trend

6.4M6.6M6.8M7M 20162018202020222025

Population 2016–2025 (World Bank)

How Bulgaria's population is changing

Bulgaria records about 146 births and 275 deaths a day — more deaths than births. Natural change is therefore negative, at roughly 129 fewer people per day, or about 47,117 a year before migration.

Net migration runs at about 2,961 over the reported period, with more people leaving than arriving. That is equivalent to about 6% of its natural change.

Over the 9 years from 2016 to 2025, the population fell from 6.89 million to 6.43 million — a loss of 460,837, or 6.7%.

Where people live in Bulgaria

With about 59 people per square kilometre, Bulgaria is moderately populated, close to the world average of 62. That ranks 77th of the 115 countries here. Its closest comparisons on density are Cameroon and Guinea.

Bulgaria covers about 108,560 km² of land, which is what turns a population of 6.43 million into that density figure.

About 74.2% of people live in urban areas, making Bulgaria highly urbanised, above the world average of 57.8%. That works out to roughly 4.77 million town and city dwellers and 1.66 million living rurally.

Age, fertility and life expectancy in Bulgaria

Bulgaria has one of the world’s oldest populations: about 14.4% are under 15 and 22.2% are 65 or older. Over-65s now outnumber under-15s, which is the classic marker of a population that has finished its demographic transition.

The total fertility rate is about 1.72 births per woman, below the ~2.1 replacement level, so without net immigration the population would eventually decline. The world figure is about 2.19.

Life expectancy at birth is about 75.8 years, roughly 2.3 years above the global average of 73.5.

Bulgaria at a glance

Every figure is World Bank open data; the year column is that indicator's own most recent reporting year.
IndicatorValueYear
Population 6.43 million 2025
World rank by population #103 2025
Annual growth rate -0.13% 2025
Population density 59 /km² 2023
Land area 108,560 km² 2023
Urban population 74.2% 2025
Life expectancy at birth 75.8 years 2024
Fertility rate 1.72 births per woman 2024
Population under 15 14.4% 2025
Population 65 and over 22.2% 2025
Net migration -2,961 2025
Births per day 146 2025
Deaths per day 275 2025

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Bulgaria?
Bulgaria has an estimated population of about 6.43 million, based on the World Bank's 2025 figure carried forward at its -0.13% annual growth rate. That makes Bulgaria the 103rd most populous of the countries tracked here. Those people occupy about 108,560 km² of land, at roughly 59 people per square kilometre. The counter at the top of this page animates that estimate second by second; it is an interpolation from the published growth rate, not a live census.
Is Bulgaria's population growing or shrinking?
Bulgaria's population is shrinking slowly, at about -0.13% a year. Deaths currently outnumber births, and net migration subtracts from it. Across the 9 years from 2016 to 2025, the recorded count moved from 6.89 million to 6.43 million. In absolute terms that rate takes roughly 8,114 people a year off a base of 6.43 million.
How densely populated is Bulgaria?
Bulgaria has about 59 people per square kilometre, which makes it moderately populated against a world average near 62. That is a population of 6.43 million spread across roughly 108,560 km² of land. On density Bulgaria ranks 77th of the 115 countries covered here. Density is simply population divided by land area. It says nothing about how those people are distributed — most countries concentrate far more heavily in cities than the national average implies.
Where do these Bulgaria figures come from?
Every figure on this Bulgaria page comes from World Bank open data (CC BY 4.0), using the indicators listed in the table above with each one's own reporting year. The headline population is the World Bank's 2025 estimate, and the live counter carries it forward at the published -0.13% annual growth rate. Nothing else is estimated by hand: density, urban share, fertility, life expectancy and age structure are reported exactly as published. Where an indicator is not available for Bulgaria, its row and the sentence that would have used it are left out rather than filled with a guess.

Current local time in Bulgaria

Methodology & sources

Data: World Bank (CC BY 4.0), base year 2025. The live counter animates the latest annual growth rate per second; it is an estimate, not a real-time measurement. No figures are invented — every number traces back to the World Bank indicators listed above.

Source: World Bank